Follow Your Heart
by flashgunner
Summary: All stories begin somewhere, but story's ends are written with actions. What does it take to defy fate and become a symbol of hope? Two Lylatians worlds apart are willing to find out. FoxXKrystal mainly T, but HARSH language in the prologue. Be warned.
1. Prologue: This is How Stories Begin

Hello, Hello, Hello all! Flashgunner here! Before we get started i have a lot of explaining to do. I have been writing on this site for a while, it has always been a fun past time. But in recent days i have noticed that i will eventually have to persue my own original works, that being the fantasy novel i've started recently, so in order to go out with a bang, i put this idea in my head. Before i go into detain though heres some more info.

Yes i know i have two other fics in progress, i will continue work on them right after this is submitted. Until those two are done this will be a SIDE project that will be updated infrequently because i have to stay true to my other works that came before. Once those are complete, my full attention will be put on this, which will be my last major fanfiction project. (iwon't be leaving completely, i may do some smaller things from time to time, but this will be the last epic i write.)

Anyway, as i said this is a side project for now, consider this monster of a prologue i have written to be a teaser for whats to come.

now onto my description of the story. My influence was FoxMC's old story: Echoes of the future. But there more to it, Echoes of the Future was the very first fanfic i ever read on this website, and most likely the reason i decided to write for the site, so i figrued, what a better way to go with the same way i began? The other influence behind this story is the recent turns in the Starfox sotryline. This story is basically a HUGE telling of Starfox's story, but DRASTICALLY changed in many places to fill in plot holes, give sensible origins and all around pay a massive tribute to one of my favorite video game series ever. i will be sticking to the main storyline in terms of events up until the end of adventures, where i will be altering the plot from Assault on.

there will be many romantic relations in this story, being a tale of a practically full lifetime. Fox and Krystal will be the main focus, but as it goes on, other pairings will be introduced, but i don't want to ruin it for you.

Now why don't we get started? i've been rambling enough.

This is the very first installment of Follow Your Heart.

story

"talking"

_thinking _

**_telepathy_**

**emphasis**

LOUD

(me talking)

**WARNING: The rating for this story is T, but some of the prologue was inspired by the opening of the movie Full Metal Jacket, so one of my original character's uses very harsh language. Not only that, but because they are younger and less mature, two of the main characters let the big F slip a few times. THIS WILL NOT CONTINUE INTO THE STORY IN EXCESS AMOUNTS so the rating will remain T.**

* * *

Destiny…

It is a strange phenomenon…

Certain things just seem to happen as if preordained…

Lives can be changed…

Hero's can be born…

And hearts can meet even against all possible odds…

But even destiny has its limits…

One can only walk their path if they believe in themselves…

Too many have fallen to the weakness of their own will…

Too many have become lost through mistrust of their allies…

Too many have died, without ever having lived…

They all have one thing in common…

They did not think of themselves…

Nor did they know what they could've become…

All it takes is one simple task…

And that is to Follow Your Heart…

Follow Your Heart

Written by: Flashgunner

Part 1: Walking the Path

Ch. 1: Prologue: This is How Stories Begin

"ATTEEEEEEEENTION!" The sound of frantically shuffling feet began before the word was even finished. The cadets were all in place beside their bunks on both sides of the room, standing up tall with no emotion on their faces before the instructor of training unit thirty two could even take one step into the room. The room was fairly large, about thirty yards long and fifteen across. Along both sides bunks were lined up, seven on each side, with enough space in between to navigate and store ones belongings. Each of the recruits lined up on each side of every bunk coming out to twenty-eight total cadets.

The tall, well built, grey and white husky made his way to the middle of the quarters. He donned a grey air force issued uniform that was littered with award patches along the sleeves. He had a red handkerchief sticking out of one chest pocket and a pair of sunglasses hanging off the other. Three gold stars sewn into the upper right shoulder of his uniform signified his status as an instructor.

"Good morning gentlemen! It's good to know you've all been informed on the rules of attention… I don't think any of you would've liked to see what I do to those who are NOT informed!" He rotated to his left, heading towards the end of the beds that ran along the left side of the room.

"I am Senior Drill Instructor Xavier Gunner! From this day forward until next year, you will either survive training, die in the process, or run away with your tail tucked **or** shoved between your ass, which is entirely up to you. Most of all let's make it clear that the first and last word I will hear from each and every one of you will be "Sir". Is that clear?" He asked as he began moving up the left side, getting a good look at all the different young sixteen to twenty year old animals that lined up for his verbal battery.

"Sir, yes sir." All the recruits reply in unison with a slight monotone. The husky looked displeased, scrunching his face and narrowing his eyes.

"That didn't sound too convincing; you punks want to be pilots or funeral home attendants? Sound off like you actually want to be here!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"That's more like it! Now! I don't care how you used to look at each other or how you got along depending on your **race**…" He emphasized the word as he past the sole ape that stood among the animals, a race known for partaking in crime and bounty hunting. "Here, you are all the same; right now that means you are all equally worthless until we can square you sorry asses away!" In one sudden motion he stopped in front of a grey hound and bent down to get right up into his face. The hound leaned back slightly as if trying to avoid the harsh presence of the instructor. "What's your name, cadet?"

"Sir! Cadet Grey, Sir!" The cadet shouted back with a controlled intensity.

"Well ain't that creative!" The instructor joked, glancing at the hound's grey fur. "You think you can fly?"

"Sir! I'd like to think so, sir!"

"Like to think so, huh? Got a confident one over here… from now on your name is Cadet Hotshot! Do you like that name?"

"Sir! I'm okay with it, Sir!"

"Well hope you're also okay with the fact that you'd better live up to that name or else I'll start calling you Cadet "I don't give straight answers!" You got that?"

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" The instructor turned away from him as quickly as he had towards him, continuing down the line. He stopped abruptly four recruits down in front of a tall blue feathered falcon with red feathers around his eyes and a bright yellow beak. He was taller than the husky, but the instructor's presence alone was enough to make anyone look smaller than he. The falcon wasn't standing attention. He was slouched down with his hands in his pockets, and all around, looked pretty ragged.

"God damn… I thought it would take longer before I found a slimy little shit who thinks he's above me." He got in the falcon's face, but the avian didn't budge an inch. "I'm not too sure scraps of trash are given names before they're dumped, but you look like you might have one, well cadet?"

"Falco Lombardi." The falcon replied quietly while shifting the weight on his legs, but still refusing to back off from the instructor's glare.

"Excuse me punk? I don't think I heard you correctly, would you like to repeat that?"

"Falco Lombardi." In one motion, the instructor struck him across the face, making him stumble backwards. The falcon immediately stood up to give the instructor a piece of his mind, but the bulldog airmen accompanying him came forward and held the avian back. The husky got right up into the falcon's face with his index finger extended towards the recruit's eyes.

"I don't know what made you think you could waltz in here and act like you owned the fucking place! If you have a problem following orders then I question your sanity for applying! Now you'd best square your ass right up or I will make sure you feel like you've been sodomized by the end of your training!" The falcon seemed to calm down and the airmen let go of him. "Now stand attention god dammit! If you don't understand the concept yourself then we will teach you the meaning of respect!" The falcon grunted in annoyance and stood attention. "Now the first **AND** last words I will hear out of your filthy beak will be **SIR!** IS, THAT, CLEAR?"

"Sir. Yes, sir." He mumbled.

"I can stand here all day punk!"

"Sir! Yes Sir!" He seemed to force out.

"Well thank you **VERY **muchCadet Thug." He turned away from the avian as the sudden nickname sunk in, and the instant he did, the Falcon stuck up his fist, flipping off the instructor to his back, causing looks of disbelief and a few sighs from the rest of the recruits. The instructor was making his way down the other side of the room when he passed a fox with light brown fur. The instructor got three paces away from him before stopping and glancing back at the vulpine. The fox had actually followed him with his eyes, and quickly turned away when the husky eyed him, but he wasn't quick enough. Xavier walked backwards until he was level and turned, looking the fox in the eye.

"Which toilet did they scrub you off of cadet? You look like a curious little shit stain to me, thinking you can break attention with my back turned... I think I'll let you off easy though, my little blue friend over there has been dished my fill of yelling for a while. Are you okay with that?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" The vulpine almost shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Well thanks for acknowledging every instructor in the god damn base! You feelin' okay son?"

"Sir! I am S-sir!" The one stammer did not make it past the husky.

"Cadet, are you scared? Do I make you nervous?"

"Sir…" The fox hesitated to continue.

"Sir WHAT? You get your cute fluffy tail stuck in your mouth?"

"Sir! I am alright Sir!"

"You sure about that?"

"Sir! It was just spur of the moment! I will be fine SIR!" The husky tilted his head slightly and shook his head.

"If you say so honey… the big bad husky ain't gonna eat you now!" He turned away, but stopped and looked the vulpine in the eye one more time. "Now hold on just a moment." Everyone was surprised by his sudden drop in tone, as if something about the fox was bothering him. He reached up to one of his chest pockets and pulled out the pair of sunglasses. "Hold still boy, I think I'm onto something…" He spoke in a condescending tone. The fox didn't budge as the glasses were slid over his eyes and resting on his muzzle. The instructor stepped back. They were way too big for the vulpine, but the husky seemed to like what he saw. "What's your name scumbag?"

"Sir! Cadet McCloud, Sir!" The husky almost seemed to smile.

"Well, well, well…" He began as he removed the glasses from the vulpine's face. "You're the son of the so called "great" mercenary…" Despite the order for attention, murmurs began spreading around the cadets. The fox seemed to wince as he heard this, which the husky noticed… nothing got past him. "Hoping no one would know? You're just as bad as James, thinking you can live life in between the lines and hope nobody cares enough to stop you…" He paced in a circle around Fox. "You take after your father, cadet?"

"Sir, I do, Sir!"

"I wouldn't be too eager about that punk! Your father is quite I pilot from what I hear… but he's wasting it by being a mercenary… a common thug fighting for money…"

"Sir! My father does what's in the best interest of the people as well and…"

"I don't recall asking you a fucking question Cadet!" Then something happened that neither the instructor nor his accompanying airmen had ever seen in the past. Everyone else nearly ducked for cover as the vulpine stepped forward towards the husky. And despite the bold move, the fox managed to keep his speech in the proper format.

"Sir! I cannot let you speak that way! I, Fox McCloud, know for a fact that my father's intentions are pure! The mercenary aspect is just to make a living! … Sir!" He almost forgot to complete the "sir" part, but unlike the falcon, the vulpine was wary of the importance of respect. The husky kept a straight face even though he was intrigued that for once someone stepped out and got in **his** mug. Yet he scoffed at the vulpine's attempt to defend his father.

"You really **are** no different than him, just as forward and rebellious. Well Cadet Outlaw, you've already proven you've got the biggest pair of anyone here, but I've got my eye on you… we'll see whether or not the apple will fall from the tree…" The fox stepped back into place with a fire alight in his eyes and the instructor returned to the middle of the room.

"Well ladies it looks like we're gonna have a fun year together! If you survive my cadet training you'll never have to deal with me again, but don't go on counting the days, you're gonna need your sanity! Now get your asses squared away and get to sleep! We've got more than enough fun planned for you tomorrow!" He turned and left, yelling, "At ease!" as he left. A collective sigh of relief sounded from the entire room as the animals began cracking their backs and feeling the after effects of learning who they'd be dealing with for the greater part of the next year. Some were still shaking a little, afraid the instructor was going to pick them out, and a mouse at the end of the left row even fell to his knees panting. The grey hound from across the room came over to help him up. Fox did the same.

"T-thanks…" the mouse mumbled to them as he hobbled over to his bed to lie down. Fox was content with his assistance and was about to head back to his bed to catch some much needed shut eye, but he was stopped.

"So you're really the son of James McCloud?" Fox sighed and turned to see the grey hound still behind him.

"Yeah… I am…" Fox replied a little reluctantly.

"Why are you so down? That's awesome!" The hound replied as he followed Fox back to his bed.

"I know, I know, it's not that I'm ashamed, in fact it's the opposite…" Fox rested his hand on the bed frame. "It's just that that's the first thing people always ask me… it was worse in school, no one ever left me alone…"

"Hey no worries… I was just curious… I mean, I've always wanted to pilot those fighters they use…"

"The Arwings?" Fox's hand slipped on the bunk frame, making his hand slide and pinched his ring finger between two connecting pieces. "Gah!" He pulled his hand back, shaking it twice and putting it to his mouth to suck on it. The greyhound chuckled once, but Fox looked up interested to know what the grey hound knew about the Arwings and his father, if anything was different from most. He was about to ask again, but realized he had no idea who the dog even was. "I'm sorry, I haven't even gotten your name yet, I heard Grey, but that's your last name right?"

"Oh right…" The hound stuck out his hand and nodded. "The name's Bill Grey. Nice to meet you…"

...

And that was Fox McCloud's first experience in the Cornerian Airforce. Despite the name he carried on his shoulder, no one ever expected him to turn out the way he would. But all great heroes had to earn their wings at some point, and not even Fox McCloud was an exception.

...

The wakeup call the next morning came several hours earlier than Fox was used to getting up. He rolled over, as if trying to find a snooze option, but his bunkmate, a brown feline, reached over from his changing space and tapped him on the arm.

"Come on man, get up! Sergeant Gunner's right outside!" This woke Fox completely, realizing the verbal abuse he'd get if he decided sleeping in was more important than getting ready for the first day. In the course of a single minute, Fox threw off his covers, jumped of his bed, threw on his white undershirt, blue cadet issued pants and uniform shirt, and his brown leather boots, and stood attention the moment Xavier entered the room.

"Good morning! Good morning! Good morning ladies! Well…" He glanced around at the lot of tired faces facing straight forward. "…Don't we all look excited to be up at five in the morning?" He walked around, checking out every cadet, but there was a gap on the left hand line. The husky stopped and eyed the open space, he remembered it well. His eyes leapt immediately to the bottom bunk nearby that had a figure in it. The covers were pulled completely over whoever it was, but a few blue tail feathers were sticking out near the bottom. "You've gotta be shittin' me…" He walked right up to the bed and tore covers off the falcon, getting right down in his face. "CADET THUG! WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET YA UP? A FUCKING SIREN?" The falcon jumped nearly five feet out of his bed and rolled off in the direction opposite of the husky. He reached up from the ground and pulled himself up to the bed.

"Christ! What the hell did I…" The falcon saw the ice-cold stare of the instructor. "Ah shit…"

"Shit is right you little ass clown! Get the fuck up and get your uniform on! The more time you take the more time the unit'll spend in gravity training!" At that point everyone else hoped the falcon would comply, they had heard nasty stories about gravity training. The falcon looked like he wanted nothing more than to let his fist solve this problem for him, but he rose to his feet and again seemed to force out his response.

"Sir! Yes Sir!" He reached down and got out his uniform.

"Well at least you've fucking learned how to speak to me properly! Too bad you're still nothing but a street punk! Don't worry; I'll make sure THAT changes!" He returned to the middle of the room as the falcon sloppily threw on his uniform and took his place I the line while grumbling obscenities to himself, but not so loud that the instructor would hear.

Fox stared across the room at the falcon. _Wonder what that guy's story is… he signs up for the strictest military force in the system, but doesn't seem to give a shit…_ The falcon suddenly glared at him from across the room, as if he could sense Fox looking at him. Fox moved his eyes back forward as if he had never been looking. He took one quick glance back, and the falcon was still glaring at him. _What's he staring at?_

"Alright ladies! Pay attention!" Xavier's booming voice made Fox stiffen as he sharply stood attention. "We've got a full agenda today don't fall behind! We've scheduled you sorry sons of bitches to be first in the simulators, so I'm sorry if you were expecting a nice hot breakfast, cause you have to wait now!" The soldiers wanted to groan in displeasure, but they all knew the kind of shit that would get them in. after that you get the leftovers, followed by flight strategy instruction, then conditioning, lunch, then repeat till dinner. We'll go over the rest later. Now stay in line! We're gonna jog across the courtyard, fall out of line and I'll kick your ass so hard you'll cough up a shoe sole! Now line up! Move it!" The recruits all lined up in two lines side by side in front of the double door entrance to the barrack. "On the hop let's go!" Xavier's two bulldog assistants led the line out and Xavier ran beside them down the hallway, past the other barrack doors and out the front into the Cornerian airforce academy courtyard.

The compound consisted of four buildings that sat beside the main cornerian military base. The barracks were the southernmost building, a paved path extended out twenty feet until it split into a large oval path around a grass field that was about a hundred yards in length the eastern building was the mess hall, where most of the recruits were heading, but the bulldogs led them around the western side of the path, passing the flight instruction building, where all the flight and strategy classes were held, this building was directly connected to the official Cornerian military building, on the other side was a nearly identical set up to the recruit compound for the Cornerian airmen. "Eyes forward Outlaw!" Xavier yelled as Fox quickly stopped taking in the view around them. They stopped in front of the northern building, which doubled as the simulator training center and hangar for training fighters. Only the lower floors had been in use for the recruits, but Fox had heard that the Mechanic recruits spent day and night in this building on the upper floors, leaving only for food and sleep.

They ceased jogging and were led through the halls to a large room with four simulators set up. They were large, silver egg shaped machines propped up on steel beams about five feet above the ground with red, roll-away ladders leading up to them. The outside remained stationary as the false cockpits within could move freely within structure. The machines had many wires running from them, connected to wall mounted computers that spanned the entire back wall of the "hangar". Xavier walked in front of all of them and placed a hand on the simulator closest to the group. "Alright maggots, this is how we're going to do this. I'm only going to explain this once, so help me god if you screw up cause you don't know what we're doing I'm gonna unscrew your head and tear out your spine!" Everyone knew he really wouldn't, but it was the intimidation that counted. "Because this most likely the first time most of you will ever touch flight controls, we will go three at a time, with me in the fourth leading you through how to start up the engines, take off and fly around so you virgins don't pop your cherries too hard. Once you've got the basic idea, you'll get ten minutes to fly around and become familiar with the feeling of flying. After that, you'll form up with me and follow my movements! Cornerian fighters act as a unit, so it is essential that you know how to control yourself within a formation!"

Fox tried to take in everything he said at once, but most of it slipped right over his head. His thoughts were concentrating on how he would perform. To anyone else it wasn't much of a big deal, most of the cadets here had not piloted anything before, and if they had it was nothing as complicated as the standard cornerian fighter. The problem was he knew Xavier would be keeping a close eye on him. Being the son of the great James McCloud was going to be something the unforgiving instructor would tag him as throughout his entire first year experience.

"Yo Fox! Snap out of it man, you still with us?" Fox blinked at Bill's voice and shook his head.

"Huh?" He dumbly replied.

"Gunner's already got three in the sims, if you wanna stand here like a robot go ahead, but it'll look weird." Bill chuckled as he turned away and headed towards the opposite wall of the room where the rest of the cadets were congregating. Fox trotted after Bill, taking his implied advice about not looking like the odd one out. A conversation had already started by the time the two were with the rest. Mostly small talk about personal lives and where everyone had come from or what they did beforehand. Fox kept his mouth shut; he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself. He did however; learn that Bill was from Katina and that his grandfather was the ace pilot of Corneria's famous Hound Squadron. Hound Squadron was the cornerstone of the Cornerian military many years back, Fox remembered how Peppy Hare, a good friend of his Father, used to tell him all about Hound squadron when he was little and how it inspired James to become a Pilot and eventually bring Peppy in as well.

Fox began to feel a little better, knowing that Bill also had a shadow to follow, but he was lucky that Xavier hadn't picked out his ties. Fox kept listening, but was interrupted as he glanced to his right and saw the falcon glaring at him again. He was leaning against the wall away from the rest of the group. Arms crossed, with eyes fixed on Fox. Fox had had it. He broke off from the group and walked over to the falcon, stopping a few feet from him.

"You have something to say to me?" He asked in a rough tone. The falcon eased off the wall and closed the distance between them to a foot, looking down at Fox as he was about a head taller.

"What the hell gave you that idea?" The falcon snapped back in a smart aleck way.

"The way you keep burning holes into me with that death glare of yours is enough of an indication." Fox bounced right back. The falcon scoffed.

"Feh… well you can just go f…"

"Not bad gentlemen!" They both turned to see Xavier stepping down the ladder of the lead simulator, meeting the ape, mouse, and hare who had occupied the others. They looked pleased with the instructor's response. "But there's plenty of room to improve, don't go get big ass egos…" their expressions faded immediately. "Now then!" He turned to the rest who had already lined up. Xavier scanned them. "Cadet Hotshot, get on up." He pointed to Bill then over his shoulder to the first simulator.

"Sir! Yes sir!" Bill ran to the simulator and was already up the ladder by the time Xavier turned back to the rest. He ran his eyes over the remaining crowd and stopped on Fox and the falcon.

"Hell, might as well kill two birds with one stone… in this case a bird and a fox… Cadet Thug! Cadet Outlaw! Take the other two!"

"Sir! Yes sir!" Fox yelled as he ran to the next pod. The falcon hadn't responded, but made his way over to the last at his own pace. As Fox made it to the top of the ladder as he heard,

"Any fucking day now sweetheart!" Fox looked down to see the Falcon moving slightly faster towards the last pod. He shrugged, pushing the frustration with his soon to be simulated wing mate aside and jumped into the cockpit of the simulator.

Fox sat back against the somewhat padded seat of the cockpit and took a second to look around the controls. The obvious one he recognized was the flight stick in front of him, it was modeled to fit comfortably in the grip of one's hand and had two buttons, on top, covered by a spring loaded cover and one on the back, which Fox figured was the ships laser. He looked around at the rest of the controls and buttons, but hadn't the faintest what most of them were for. Out in front of his he could see Xavier climbing the ladder into the lead simulator, so Fox pulled the four point safety harness over his body and clicked it into place. He looked up and saw a silver handle next to a sign that read. "Pull down to begin simulation." Fox obeyed the sign, reaching up and pulling the hatch door shut. It was completely black for a moment, but a soft hum filled the compact space and the walls of the compartment lit up. In front of him the words "Loading intro simulation" began blinking on the curved screen.

"Now listen up cadets!" Fox's ears perked up to the sound of Xavier's voice over the cockpit's comm speakers. He was surprised that for once Xavier had not referred to them as something other than their official designation. "Ya ain't gonna go anywhere unless you turn on the ship first, so go ahead and hit those three switches to the left of the flight stick." Fox eyed the switches in a vertical pattern labeled "1", "2", and "ignition" from top to bottom. He reached for them and flipped them all down, making the rest of the cockpit spring to life with both a mid pitched hum and illuminating most of the controls. As he finished the simulation sprang to life with an extremely realistic image filling the simulator screen. His simulated fighter was currently on the ground in a launch tunnel with three other ships, on in front of him and one to his left and right.

"Good we're all loaded up and clear to launch. Now before we release the landing gear we need to go into hover mode. The throttle is beside your right leg. Right now it's probably set to lock. Push it right to unlock it and the ship will automatically hover." Fox obeyed, unlocking the stick and the simulator lurched slightly, the image in front of him shifted, suggesting he was now hovering above the ground. The other three ships in his field of view did the same. "Good, now there should be another switch below the ignition switch labeled "Landing gear". I don't think I need to tell you what to do with it." Fox did see the switch, but the label was half scratched off from either years of use, or someone with a nervous habit. He hit the "Land- -ear" switch and a simulated whirring noise sounded within the cockpit. Fox saw the other ships lose the landing gear as well.

"Alright cadets! Time to launch! On my mark push the throttle to two hundred and fifty miles per hour! When you make it to the red portion of the tunnel punch it to five hundred miles per hour to make a proper launch! Any higher speed within the designated areas is a violation of Cornerian security safety and launch protocol." Fox took a mental note and stared down at the throttle. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the simulators throttle was labeled to let trainee's see an estimate of how far the stick had to be pushed to attain certain speeds. "Prepare to launch on my mark!" Fox put his eyes forward, right hand on the throttle and left on the flight stick.

_Okay Fox… this is your first time flying… well not really, but sort of…_

"On my count!"

_Dad's probably out busting heads right now… I wonder if I'll ever be able to fly like him_…

"Three!"

_Just stay focused, and get used to the controls…_

"Two!"

_This is it…_

"One!"

_Here we go…_

"Launch!"

Fox pushed forward on the stick slowly and the image began to move. The ships in front of him began moving as well and sped up steadily. They went faster and faster, reaching two-fifty in seconds, the tunnel turned red and the three fighters pulled away, Fox punched the throttle to five hundred and rocketed after them. Soon a light appeared, getting large and larger until the four fighters blasted through the exit of the tunnel. Fox was filled with a mix of excitement and awe. He knew it was a simulation, but it felt quite real. However he was also slightly afraid, even though he would never admit it. His hands were trembling upon the flight stick, afraid to turn it away from going straight forward. He was right behind the other three so he just held the ship steady, hoping to get an order from Xavier, cause at the moment, he had no clue what to do.

"Looks like all launches were successful, good job boys, now here's the deal. The three of you are now to break off and go flying around. You've got ten minutes to familiarize yourself with the controls. When time's up, I'll fly by and we'll form up in the quad-diamond formation and we'll see if you can handle basic formation movements. So get out there! And for Christ's sake DON'T fly into each other!" Fox watched as Bill's fighter slowly leaned right and flew off. He glanced left and saw the falcon's fighter. To his surprise, it suddenly did an inline twist before zooming off to the left. "Hey now! We got a showoff already!" Fox heard over the com "Cadet Thug! Save it for the advanced simulations!"

_Yikes! He must have past flight experience… but when and where? He's my age!_

"Cadet Outlaw! You asleep in there! Get a move on!" Fox snapped out of his stare and flipped the comm switch to the right of the radar screen in the middle of the dash board.

"Sir! Sorry sir!" he quickly apologized.

"Sorry ain't doing ya shit right now kid! You're already down half a minute! Quit staring at Cadet Thug's fancy moves and get to flying!"

"Yes sir!" Fox complied and switched off his comm. Not a moment later, Fox pulled off his first blunder. He jammed the stick right and the cockpit jerked, tilting the simulate fighter almost completely on its side. In panic he jammed it back left, but that only made things worse as the fighter lost control of its momentum and started losing altitude. "Shit!" Fox yelled as he forced the stick to the center, steadying the craft, regaining its balance and rebuilding its speed. Now steady once again, Fox gasped and wheezed for air. _For a simulation that felt pretty damn realistic!_ He shook his head. _Come on Fox! Stay on task! No more blunders! You need to get this down!_ He made a note to be gentler with the controls until he understood them more and continued to free fly.

It was tricky work, but Fox was soon able to control his fighter smoothly. Only within a novice's level though. He was still a bit shaky with sharp maneuvers and hadn't tried going much faster than launching speed. Fox wished he had more time to practice, but Xavier's voice chimed in.

"Alright scumbags! Stay in your general area! I'm going to fly by each of you, and as I pass I want you all to form up in the same positions we launched in! Stay focused!"

_Stay focused…_ Fox repeated to himself as the comm switched off. _That's what I've been telling myself… hopefully it's enough…_ He glanced over his flight stick and to the radar on the dash board; three green lights had appeared and were moving towards him. He was the last one, and had to form up in the back. He looked to his left to see the others flying by and quickly turned his fighter towards them. Unfortunately, they were traveling at launch speed, so fox had to speed up if he wanted to catch them. _Ok… here goes…_ He clenched the throttle tightly and eased it forward… a little too much. The engine fired and he was nearly upon the others way before he thought he'd be. He veered off just in time to miss the fighter on the left, the wings barely an inch away from colliding. Fox exhaled and pulled the throttle down a few notches until he had a clear view of them again. His intercom sprang to life. He was expecting Xavier to appear and begin chewing him out, but it was the falcon.

"What the fuck are ya doing? Ya trying to drag me down with your shitty flying!" Fox was already aware that he had screwed up and didn't think it was his place to argue.

"S…sorry, I'm not used to it yet." He tried to pseudo-apologize, but the falcon kept squawking.

"Ya might as well quit while you're ahead! Jesus, ten minutes and you can't even control the speed? So much for the McCloud name huh?" That tipped Fox over.

"Hey, what the hell is your deal asshole? I'm not the only one here who hasn't flown before so back off!" The falcon looked ready to continue the verbal bout, but they were cut off by Xavier.

"Both of you shut the FUCK up, I heard teenage girls chat about their little boy crushes for less time compared to how long you two've been bickering! Cadet Thug! You've lost your communication privileges!"

"But he-" The falcon's face disappeared from the screen and Xavier's appeared.

"Cadet Outlaw, that had to be the worst first attempt at forming up I have ever seen in my god damn life! Try it again, and this time don't spank the throttle so hard!" Fox couldn't believe he had just heard Xavier use that terminology, but the instructors face was gone before he could respond.

_Did he have to put it THAT way? _He glanced down at the lever._ I'm never gonna look at the throttle the same way again…_ Fox groaned and pushed the lever forward, considerably less than he had before. He centered his field of view between the left and right wingmen and slowly made his way into the group. As soon as he locked position, Xavier chimed in.

"About time Cadet! I was about to get eight hours of sleep while you were at it." There was a pause. To Fox this felt like a comedian giving a crowd time to laugh before insulting someone else. "Alright now! I'm going to execute a few basic team maneuvers! I want you three to copy my movements as closely as you can!" The comm cut off and Fox locked his eyes on the lead fighter. Xavier's ship began swaying side to side, up, and down in a relaxed tempo. Fox was relieved he was expecting a more advanced challenge. He continued to follow the lead ship with little trouble, until Xavier suddenly pitched right and took a hard turn. The falcon followed in an instant, but Bill seemed to hesitate for half a second. Fox on the other hand had pitched way too far in his own surprise and his turn was much tighter. He ended up a good distance away from the other three. He quickly leveled out and flew back, hoping Xavier had not noticed. But as he pulled in, Xavier's voice boomed over the speakers. "STAY IN FORMATION!" he barked. Fox sighed and replaced himself in the back.

The same procedure repeated itself three more times, and fox only managed to complete the third. The second and forth weren't much different from his first attempt. Each time he screwed up it was met with the same thing, Xavier yelling, "STAY IN FORMATION!" Fox was pretty sure he'd hear that in his sleep.

"Sim 4, you are clear for landing." The robotic voice spoke over Fox's intercom as he approached the landing tunnel. He held the stick steady as he entered the simulated hangar and killed the thruster engines directly over his landing area. He flipped the gear switched and gently released the hover jet's thrust until the fighter touched down. "Clean landing. Nice job." The computer spoke to him.

_At least I did SOMETHING right…_ He sighed and slouched in the cockpit seat as the computer generated world slowly disappeared from the screen. "That was one hell of a fine start…" Fox said to himself as he unbuckled the safety harnesses. He unlocked the simulator hatch and let the door hiss open on its own. He sighed and picked himself out of the seat, making his way down the ladder. Xavier was heading for the falcon, and from the sight of Bill smiling made Fox believe that he had positive feedback.

"You might just have a place here after all! All we gotta is work on you being a dick and you'll be a great pilot!" Fox turned to see Xavier talking to the falcon, who despite being praised was still not paying attention to anything. Then Fox feared the worst as his instructor neared him.

"Well Cadet Outlaw… you've got a long way to go…" He pulled down the display monitor for Fox's simulator and shook his head. "Hate to tell ya this, but you just broke the record for worst first run by about two hundred points…" He turned the monitor to Fox. Fox's heart sank as he saw his simulation score read 176/1000.

"Sir! I've never flown before in my life! Sir!" Fox faked the discipline.

"Well guess what son, you ain't the only one!" He pushed the screen back up to the simulator and turned his back to Fox. "You better hope you can pull your head out of your ass… with scores like that, you'll be discharged in a week for lack of competence."

"I will get… I mean… Sir! I will get better! You can count on it! Sir!" Said Fox. Xavier chuckled and turned to him.

"You better hope that **YOU** can count on it… cause Daddy aint gonna hold your hand." Fox's right ear twitched at the mention of his father. "We'll be watching you cadet… until you prove us otherwise… the apple has hit the ground." And with that he walked off to grab the next line of recruits. Fox stood still, with his head hanging.

_Maybe this was a bad idea… I mean… I don't HAVE to follow in my father's footsteps… no one is making me…_ Just then someone bumped into him. It was the falcon, and he kept walking after doing so.

"Whoops! Sorry! I must've been going too fast and almost knocked you out." He said in a very sarcastic voice.

All of Fox's doubt turned to anger in seconds. The falcon continuously bothered him, had made a comment about his father during the simulation, and now was mocking him for his mistakes. That was the last straw. Fox grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around and pulled him down to his eye level by the collar.

"Alright Beakface… you got something you wanna say to me? Would you mind saying to my face?" Fox growled to the bird's face.

The falcon smirked. "I think someone's got his fur full of static. You should go lie down before you almost crash into anything else…" Fox snapped and pulled back his fist to let the joker have it, but someone grabbed Fox's arm and pushed the two of them apart.

"Cool it guys! What the hell are you two doing?" Bill was now between them.

"I was about to introduce this asshole to my knuckles!" Fox growled while glaring past Bill at the falcon.

"Aw go lay an egg McCloud… you think you're so tough cause of your old man, but that aint worth shit. You wanna be tough? Speak with your flying, not your name." Fox was surprised as he found the falcon's words held weight. He calmed down, and Bill let go of him. "Ha." The bird chuckled as he turned away from them and walked away. Bill sighed and glanced at Fox, who was still looking at the falcon.

"You okay man?" Bill waved his hand up and down in front of Fox's face. Fox shook his head.

"Yeah… I'm good… who is he anyway?" Fox asked.

"Well, he was near me when Xavier backhanded him yesterday… I think he said his name was Falco Lomdradi…Londorno…Lormraton… I dunno, I could hear the last name clearly, but I did hear Falco.

"Falco huh… he's interesting." Fox paused then laughed. "Too bad he's a complete douche…"

...

A slight breeze brushed past the blades grass, pushed against the leaves of tall trees, and played with the colorful pedals of beautiful flowers. The grasslands were thick with life, from the sprouting sapling to the tallest oak. Great trees were strewn all over the field, but not close enough to be considered a forest.

As the wind continued to blow, it whisked past the nose of a vixen kit who lay face up underneath the protective shade of a grand evergreen, sleeping. Her nosed twitched as it was tickled by the slow gust.

"Hmm…" She sighed as she turned on her side to avoid the breeze's antics. It didn't matter though; her little nap was interrupted anyway.

"Krystal!" A high voice called out from nearby, waking her. "Krystal where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She yawned and trenched her arms and legs out, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. She was wearing a beige one piece dress with short sleeves that was crafted by her mother and a small pair of white sandals. The shirt had a dashed outline stitched around the waist and neck with a blue design on the center that was made to look like the symbol of her people. Unlike a typical Lylat vixens, vixen's on her planet had a full head of hair that draped past their ears and down the back. Kystal brushed her bangs out of her eyes, causing a few small clicks from the beads tied into her hair. "Krystal!" Her name was called out by the high pitched voice again, this time right behind the tree.

"Niomi, I'm right here." A blue furred face popped out from around the tree. It was another vixen.

"Krystal! I've been looking all over for you!" The kit jumped out in front of her, she was wearing a similar outfit with different designs. "I thought we were going to trick Jagger today!" Krystal was suddenly wide awake.

"Oh! I completely forgot!" She stood up now at eye level with Niomi. "Come on let's go! He's probably there already!" The two kits took off into the field.

This lush planet, full of life, and full of mystery, is Cerinia, a planet similar to Corneria in terms of natural environment, yet it is located in a far off, unexplored region of the Lylat system. I strange phenomena is present within this region, the warmth of Solar cannot reach the planet, yet the magnetic imbalance of Sector Z amplifies the heat, allowing it to reach much farther towards this collection of planets, including Cerinia, Sauria, Rishia, and the gas giant Dirinia.

Cerinia is populated, by a primitive, yet magically enchanted race of azure furred vulpines. But its most distinguishing feature is that it is a planet of peace. War does not exist between the tribes; in fact, the tribes are united in the interest of keeping violence from ever tainting the planet. The tribes are watched over by the seven elders of each major tribe, both wise and dependable, who follow the great elder, whose wisdom and power keep the planet from falling into confusion or disarray.

But there is one habitant of this planet that carries with her a destiny like none other. It is one she does not realize nor is it one she will be prepared for, but she knows one thing, and that is something her father has told her from the day she was born, and that is she must follow her heart.

"Shhh! Here he comes!" The two little vixen kits crouched behind a wood crafted bed in a dark room, trying their hardest not to have giggle fits. The sound of the door tarp being pushed aside was heard and footsteps entered the room. Soon drapes were pushed aside from the windows and the room was filled with light.

An older fox around the age of thirteen placed the torch he was carrying in a holder over his table. Unlike the planet's vixen's, male Cerinians did not have any extra hair atop their heads, so they looked just like typical Lylatian vulpine males with blue fur. He was wearing just a Cerinian loin cloth. It was a Cerinian tradition to be proud of and show the maturity of one's body as they grew older, so once the age of ten was reached, one would discard the clothing of their youth and wear garments that only conceal the necessary.

The room was of dome shape with the bed on the far left concealing the two rascals. Along the rest of the wall were tables, some with scrolls and scriptures and others empty. But right across from the bed, was a large wooden box that seemed to be just a block of wood, but the fox waved his hand over it, causing three symbols to light up on the box. Suddenly a door appeared on it and the fox opened it. He reached in a pulled out a long, hand-crafted, wooden flute decorated with white and blue feathers dangling from both ends with string. Niomi nudged Krystal and Krystal nodded. The two quietly emerged as the fox inspected his instrument. They crept up behind him, veering to his left slightly. Krystal then focused her mind on him.

_**Jaaaaaagger…**_The Fox perked up as he heard a voice in his head.

"Huh?" _**Okay who's in my head?**_ He responded.

_**Look right…**_

_**Right?**_ The Fox looked to his right and just as he did Niomi pounced on his back, knocking him over onto the floor, the flute flew out of his hand and landed behind him.

"Big Brother! Play with me!" Niomi screamed childishly.

"Sis! Come on! I'm busy!" As he was occupied, Krystal grabbed the flute from the ground and waved at Niomi. She jumped off of him and ran to Krystal. Jagger turned in time to see Krystal and Niomi giggling and Krystal in possession of his flute.

"H-Hey!" He yelled as he tried to get up, but the two of them were already running.

"Sorry Jagger! We'll bring it back!" Krystal laughed as the two ran. Jagger followed them, but by the time he made it through the rest of his home and looked outside, the two kids were long gone. He sighed heavily, scratching the top of his head.

"Something wrong Jagger?" Jagger's father approached him from outside with a large bundle of lumber roped to his back. He was much larger than Jagger, well built, and obviously strong due to the fact that he had three tree's worth of logs on his back. His defining feature was a scare down the middle of his face between his eyes that he had obtained while hunting feral boars. Jagger acknowledged his father and sighed.

"Niomi and Krystal stole my flute again…"

"He he! We got it!" Krystal stuck the flute in the air above her head as the two vixens walked through a grassy field a good distance from their village.

"It was all you Krystal… you're telepathy is so good already! Mine has barely done anything…" said Niomi.

"Don't worry, it's different for everyone… or so my father told me…" Before she could continue, she was cut off by a deep yet caring voice.

"I've also told you to stop your antics time and time again."

"Ah!" Krystal yelped as someone grabbed her by the back of her dress. She glanced over her shoulder with a pouty look on her face up to her father. He wasn't as large or as built as Niomi's father, and he was less scruffy, more intelligent looking. He too donned the traditional male outfit of just a loin cloth, but his distinguishing feature was the large white tribal tattoo on his chest that was the same design as the symbol sewn on Krystal's clothes. "Father, you always ruin our fun." She huffed, folding her ears back.

"There's a difference between fun and mischief. Now come, let's return that shall we?"

"Aw…" The two children replied in unison.

"How did you find us?" Niomi asked. Krystal's Father chuckled.

"Krystal needs to come home, so I found her with my mind." He explained.

"So he cheats…" Krystal huffed with her arms crossed.

"And **you**, forgot what we need to prepare for." He continued while rubbing his palm on her head.

"What did I forget?" Krystal was too miffed to think straight. Her Father sighed.

"Good thing we keep track or you'd never know how old you are… Krystal, tomorrow is your ninth birthday…" He finished as Krystal perked up.

"Oh… I didn't even know!"

"Which means…" He continued, "That we need to get you ready to go meet the great elders."

"Huh?" She turned to look at him as much as she could with her outfit still being firmly grasped.

"Krystal, it is the most sacred ritual of Cerinia… When they reach the age of nine, all children must go to see the elders so they may use their advanced telepathy to read their futures… this is essential as the child prepares to take on his or her roll on the planet once they come of age a year later." He explained as they re-entered the village. They walked down the central path of the village, passing many large houses; dome configuration's constructed of wood and hay. The path was busy; Cerinians were all walking about, hard at work within their daily routines. This included, people hauling karts full of crops, hunters returning with wild game, and people hauling general supplies like hay and lumber. Along the road, there were tribal totem poles, marked not with faces, but with designs that were meant to represent the guardian spirits of Cerinia. The poles were the Cerinian's symbol of acknowledgement and respect towards these spirits, and in return, the spirits watch over them. Eventually they made it to Niomi's house near the far end of the village where Niomi's father was outside, piling wood into a large container made of four wooden posts and dried boar hides.

"Tenassis!" Krystal's father called to him as they approached. The large Fox turned to them and smirked at the sight.

"Well Rheneas… I see you caught our little bandits." He chuckled as he saw the two vixen's sigh.

"Accidentally really, good thing I did, we'd be after them for hours like last time." The two shared a good laugh as Jagger emerged from the house. "Now Krystal, I do believe you have something that belongs to Jagger."

"Again…" Jagger added as he strode up to her and held out his hand.

"Fine." Krystal said flatly as she handed him the flute. He grabbed it away from her.

"You know if you ever want to see it you should just ask…" Said Jagger.

"But then it wouldn't be fun." Niomi joked as Rheneas let go of her. "I guess I'll see you later Krystal." She waved and disappeared into the house.

"Well now." Rheneas started while focusing on his daughter. "We should head home; your mother is probably wondering what's taking me so long… We need to get you ready for tomorrow."

"Oh, she's turning nine tomorrow right?" Tenassis approached with a large hatchet in hand, turning it upside down, and using it to lean on.

"That's right. She's going to meet the elders." Said Rheneas as he reached out and grabbed Krystal's tail as she tried to sneak away. "I don't think so missy."

"What luck! Just in time for the tri-monthly ceremony of future reading. But I thought you weren't into the whole future reading thing." Continued Tenassis as Rheneas' ears drooped.

"Yeah I'm not… but it's a ritual, I don't want people to think I'm rebellious." He shrugged.

"Wise choice my friend." Tenassis picked up his hatchet and rested it over his shoulder. "I hate to kick you out, but I need to get back to my work." Rheneas nodded.

"No problem friend, till we meet again." They shook hands and Rheneas reached out again to catch Krystal by her arm before she could run off. "Nice try, we're going home."

"Darn." Krystal sighed.

The two made their way back to the main road and backtracked until they came to their house six buildings later. By now Solar was setting and the town torches were being lit to bathe the village in a soft glow through the night.

"Kiera? I've got Krystal." Rheneas spoke as he pushed aside the drape of their front door and moved into the large living area of their home. It was a large dome, with three doors leading to two bedrooms and a study. There were tribal ceramics and art lined up on the left wall and the doors near the back. On the right hand side of the living area was a fire surrounded by a stone wall to shield it from the wall with three hand crafted cushions near it. Kiera was sitting on one of the cushions, putting together a jeweled necklace.

Kiera was an extremely beautiful vixen, many considered Rheneas to be very lucky to have his arranged marriage to be with her when they were younger, and even luckier that they had been childhood friends on top of that, it was an unlikely combination, but sometimes those things just work out. Kiera wore the traditional loin cloth and top of female Cerinians, and in terms of being proud of one's bodily maturity, she had every reason to be. She had bright green eyes and her hair hung down to her mid back, her bangs curved partially covering her right eye. The bangs near her left eye were pulled aside and grown out long so that they could hold the long white bead configuration than hung down from her face. She smiled when she saw her husband nudge Krystal into the house.

"Being an artful dodger again honey?" She addressed to Kystal, but Rheneas answered.

"Up to her usual tricks with Niomi." The two of them sat down on the open cushions beside Kiera as she tied the two ends of the necklace together and held it up for them to see.

It was a piece made with tough boar hide string, lined completely with brown beads. But at the end of it was fine carved stone, shaped like an upside-down triangle with a large emerald planted in its center.

"How does it look?" She asked.

"It's pretty!" Krystal chimed in while leaning towards it. As she leaned, her mother slid it over her head and around her neck.

"Consider it you're birthday present a day early… you need to look nice for the elders…" Kiera smiled. Krystal's eyes grew wide.

"Really? It's for me?" She gently grabbed it with her hands and turned it around to look at the bright green stone in its center.

"It matches your eyes." Rheneas cut in. "But I'm sure your mother had it in mind when she made it." He raised his eyebrows at Kiera, who giggled in response. Krystal lunged at her mother and gave her a tight hug around the waist.

"Thank you! It's great!"

"You're welcome sweetie…" Keira embraced her daughter. "Now we have to make sure everything is ready for tomorrow… and make sure you go to bed early, we have to wake up at dawn tomorrow… it's a long walk to the temple."

"Okay!" Krystal nodded with a large smile before trotting off through the middle door to her room. The two parents watched their daughter leave the room. Kiera got up from her cushion and began walking towards the shelf that had all her crafting supplies, but halfway she was caught from behind by Rheneas, pulling her into a tight hug from behind.

"Sorry I took so long finding her." He spoke softly into her ear, which was easy due to him being no more than two inched taller than her.

"Actually it worked out just fine…" She hugged his forearms in front of her and leaned her head back, nuzzling her head into his neck. "It would have been awkward trying to make her present with her asking me what it was for."

"That's true…" Rheneas chuckled. "She's always so full of questions and curiosity."

"Just like her father." Kiera joked, reaching up and tapping him on the nose.

"You can't blame me for being interested in things." He laughed, resting his chin on her head. She reached her tail around his legs and intertwined it with his.

"No… I suppose not… we did end up having Krystal didn't we?" She teased. Rheneas twitched.

"H-hey now! That's going a little overboard!" He blushed, Kiera giggling at his flustered response.

"Oh Rhen, you are too easy…" The two of them shared a laugh, still tightly locked in their embrace. "I have a feeling…" Kiera began, "That the elders will like her. What do you think?"

"I'm sure they will… She's has an adventurous spirit, and her telepathy is quite good for her age, I'm sure she has an interesting future… hopefully better than me…" Kiera released herself from his grip and turned the hug around, so they were facing each other.

"I think our future turned out just fine." She said with a confused look on her face.

"No, I know that, I mean more interesting… I'm a farmer, I don't think Krystal could take it, she's too energetic." He explained. Kiera shrugged.

"We'll see… but that reminds me… have you given her your little pep-talk yet?" Rheneas's ears pointed upward.

"Ah! I forgot about that… yeah I'll go do that now." He bent down slightly and planted a kiss on her lips. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Where would you be without me?" She joked.

"Probably still picking unwinnable fights with Tenassis." He chuckled, letting go of Kiera and walked over to Krystal's room.

"Krystal?" Rheneas pushed aside the tarp that covered Krystal's door.

"Yes father?" Krystal was sitting on her small bed on the far side of the room, the necklace in her hands being held up close to her face for careful examination. Rheneas entered the room and Kiera stood right outside the door to listen in.

"Now Krystal…" He crossed the room and sat down beside her on the bed. "…Tomorrow is a very important day… I'm sure you already know that, but I didn't come in here to repeat what you already know." By now Krystal had let the necklace dangle from her neck and had her full attention towards her father. He smiled at her.

"No matter what the elders see in your future and no matter what you end up doing with your life…" He continued. "Just remember that it is more important to shape your own life, live your own way, and not let anybody tell you otherwise." He paused, looking into the bright young eyes staring up at him. "If you want to be happy… this is what you must do…"

"But…" She cut in. "How do I know if I'm doing it right?" Rheneas smiled.

"It's easy… just remember what I've told you in the past… to always… always… follow your heart."

"Follow my heart…" Krystal looked away from him.

"Yes…" He patted her on the head. "If you can do that… you will always know what to do…"

...

"Sim Two is hit and going down! Repeat! Sim Two is down!" An ape shouted over his comm as he watched one of his wingmen go down in simulated smoke. "Requesting backup in Sector Three! I could use it quick!" He forced the throttle to the max, causing his fighter to surge forward in time to avoid yellow laser fire. Before he knew it e was being tailed by about twelve pyramid shaped bogey simulations. He pitched left and right trying his best to lose them, but they were on him tight. "Shit! Hey this is Sim Four! Is there anyone still alive that can help me?"

"Don't lose your britches Samson! Sim Seven on the way and comin' in HOT!" The ape faced forward and looked up.

"Oh shit!" A Cornerian fighter was dive bombing right towards him. "McCloud! Are you crazy? Pull up!"

"No worries man I got this!" Fox yelled back, pitching his fighter up slightly to aim at the bogeys. Green laser fire poured from his weapons, whisking over Samson's ship and raining hell upon the enemies. Fox was on the mark for nine of the twelve bogeys. He punched the throttle to full, zooming right through the simulated explosions. "No sweat!" Samson re-appeared on his comm monitor.

"Nice stunt McCloud, but there are still three tailing AND firing on me!" Samson yelled through the speakers. Fox just chuckled.

"You honestly believe that Bill was knocked out of the simulation?" He said in a smug tone.

"What are you—AH!" Samson ducked in his own cockpit as another Cornerian fighter zoomed right over his fighter, flying upside-down, firing on and destroying the remaining targets behind.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHAAAAAAAAA!" Bill yelled as he flipped his fighter right side-up and flew past Fox. "Sim one, still alive!"

"You two are nuts…" Samson said to himself as the words, "simulation over" flashed on the screen.

Fox threw open the cockpit of the simulator with glee as he looked up his score on the machines computer. He was in machine seven in a formation of eight in a V shape; this was the larger simulator room with four other sections with formation setups. The five who were shot down were already out of their pods and checking the score tables of their run. Fox, Bill, and Samson descended their ladders and did the same. As Fox transferred his data to the score server, Xavier walked up behind him.

"Well, what have we here…" He startled Fox, who turned around and stood attention. The data came through and Fox's score read 920/1000. Comments: points deducted for damaged, including damage from reckless flying. "Well Outlaw, only three weeks and you've actually managed to impress me! I've never seen anyone pull themselves out from so deep in the shitter!"

"Sir thank you sir!" Xavier waved a hand at him.

"At ease son, this ain't a drill." Fox relaxed as Xavier pulled up the rest of the scores. "Well looks like you're still in third." Fox looked over at the screen seeing Bill with a score of 970/1000. Fox had a feeling he meant Bill. Bill had shown great potential from the beginning. Then Xavier scrolled up one more. A picture of Falco appeared and his score from the earlier session was a perfect 1000/1000.

"What! Again!" Fox yelled out loud. Xavier laughed.

"Cadet Thug may be a walking pile of garbage, but he sure can fly! Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him!" Xavier walked off chuckling to himself. Fox kept staring at the scores as Bill came up behind him.

"Yo Fox! Another great run for us! These simulations are too easy!" Bill exclaimed while patting Fox on the back. But when Fox didn't respond he looked around his friends shoulders and waved his hand in front of the vulpine's eyes. "Hey Fox! You with us?"

"I don't get it…" Fox finally spat out.

"Huh? Bill looked at the scores and saw Falco's perfect numbers. "Oh wow…"

"How does he do it? I mean, if he did it once or twice I'd understand… but he has yet to slip up once! He's gotten perfect scores since our very first simulation run!" Fox kept staring at the 1000/1000. Bill just shrugged.

"I guess he's just a prodigy or something… maybe he was born in a cockpit." He chuckled. Just then Xavier called for attention. "Hey Fox, come on, we have lunch now."

"Alrigt, alright…"

After a quick debriefing they all headed to the mess hall. The hall was one large room with two hundred tables in it that were arranged into twenty aisles atop a white a black checkered tile floor. There were sections labeled for each cadet level. Those who were in their fourth and final year of the academy got the fifty tables closest to the serving line, the second and third year's got the table sections adjacent to the fourth's, and the first year cadet's were shoved way in the back. The serving line was set up in the corner closest to the fourth year tables. Fox and Bill waited for what seemed like hours to get their lunch. Everyone was served the same thing, there was no arguing it. Today on the menu was tomato soup with a side of whole grain rolls and over cooked penne pasta with alfredo sauce.

Fox sighed at the stellar selection of the cooks for today and followed Bill way over to the first year cadet tables. As the two found a gap in the recruits wide enough for two and sat down, Fox looked over at the second-year cadets. They all looked so much more relaxed and laid back compared to how stiff and intense Fox had felt so far.

"Bill, is it just me or do we have the only instructor that's a complete hardass?" He questioned his friend. Bill glanced over his shoulder to see what Fox was looking at.

"Oh! No man, all the first-year trainers are like that, well I dunno if their all as harsh as Xavier, but the principles are the same. Once you get through the first year they basically let you go and everything from there is on you."

"Huh?" Fox was confused, but Bill continued.

"Yeah, all this strict stuff? It's just for disciplinary training. When you move on, everything changes. You ever wondered what was on the upper floors of the barracks building?" Bill asked. Fox thought about it for a moment, it was true the barracks building was ten floors, but his unit's bunks were on the first floor. "This is how it works; the first floor is for all the Male first years. The second is for the Female first years. Both of these floors just have collective unit housing. The third floor is actually a huge lounge."

"What?" Fox was surprised he hadn't heard of this.

"I know right? The fourth floor is where all the mechanic trainees live, since there's a lot less compared to the cadets. Then after that it goes second year guys, second year girls, third year guys, etc. And the best part is, it's all dorms up there, the boot camp style is only used on first years." Bill finished. "It's not all fun and games though… starting second year we have to partake in a few academic courses."

"What? Aw man, I thought I left school behind…" Fox slouched stopping halfway towards grabbing his glass of milk.

"Well, they don't want illiterate soldiers now… Corneria **is** known for its off world diplomacy you know…" Bill continued as Fox chugged his milk and lightly slammed the plastic cup back on the table.

"That sounds more like a university than a military compound…" Fox chuckled, prodding the pasta on his plate with his fork. Bill shrugged.

"It's why the Cornerian army is the largest in the system… they promote well being and freedom of the individual within a strictly enforced military code of conduct and discipline. So you might as well be a college student." Bill ended there and took a large bite out of his bread. Fox pondered all he had heard while trying to fit as many pieces of pasta on his fork as he could.

"Man… how do you know all this?" Fox asked as he looked down at his fork and realized he'd never be able to eat that much pasta at once. "It's like you've been snooping around at night or something." He continued while pushing some of the pasta off the fork to make a reasonable portion.

"Mmm…" Bill held up his hand and finished chewing his bread. "My grandpa use to tell me about it, I just figured it hasn't changed much." Fox nodded and refocused on his food. He scrunched his face in disgust at the thick skin that had formed on his soup. He pushed it down with his spoon till it collapsed and drowned in the orange broth. The cardinal sitting across from them stood up and lifted his tray from the table to turn in, but he ran into another avian. The sound of trays clashing made Fox and Bill turn to see what happened, but luckily nothing was dropped.

"Oh! Sorry." The cardinal stepped aside and Falco walked past him with his tray. He spotted the seat that was just opened, but after glancing at Fox he looked away and around at the surrounding tables like he was trying to find another seat. When there was nothing within twenty paces, the falcon sighed and sat down across from them. He proceeded to eat his food pretty quickly. Fox and Bill stole a lance at each other, and then back at Falco.

_Well this is awkward…_ Thought Fox. _Would it hurt him to speak to other people?_ Fox decided to take a risk. "Nice score on the simulator." He commented completely out of the blue. Falco froze, spoon full of soup halfway to his face.

"Feh…" Was his only response as he continued eating.

"Where'd you learn to fly like that?" Fox question made Falco freeze again.

"What's it to you?" He replied rudely. Fox rolled his eyes.

"Geez, just wondering… you don't have to be an ass about it." He had a feeling this would happen, only one thing could make it worse.

"Oh what… daddy's legacy ain't pulling its weight? Wanna hear my secrets instead?" Fox slammed his fork onto the table, bending it completely back. He let go of it, stood up, and pointed his index finger directly at Falco.

"Alright, seriously, what the HELL is wrong with you! Every time someone tries to talk to you, you act like a complete douche!"

"Hey now! Fox, cool it!" Bill grabbed Fox by the arm and pulled him back down.

"I don't know how you can stand this guy Bill!" Falco was already ignoring them and back to eating.

"Fox man, he's trying to pull your strings, don't let him get under your fur, that's **exactly** what he's trying to do." Bill let go of him and Fox grunted in anger.

"Screw this; I'm going to report early." Fox stood up, grabbed his tray and stormed off towards the tray collection line before Bill could tell him to calm down again. To Fox it was bad enough that he already had his father's shadow to break out of, it didn't help that Falco was now using James as a way of insult towards him. Fox grumbled to himself as he trudged out of the mess hall and continued all the way to the flight classrooms.

Fox barely paid attention during his entire flight strategy lecture on targeting order for enemy formations. He was intentionally in the back row because he as in no mood to pay attention. One row forward about five seats down, Falco was sitting with his hands resting behind his head, tipping back in his chair. He was staring straight forward, but it was doubtful he was paying attention. Fox's glares almost brunt holes in the back of Falco's head. The avian had really hit a nerve in the mess hall, and Fox was determined to strike back somehow. The only problem was he knew absolutely nothing about Falco, whereas Falco was well aware of Fox's family ties, so the fight was heavily in Falco's favor. Suddenly Fox felt someone nudge him from the right. He turned and saw a brown hare from his unit, when Fox gave him a quizzical look; the rabbit nodded his head sideways towards the instructor. Fox looked forward and froze when he saw the grey vulpine instructor and half the classroom looking at him.

"Uh… what?" He asked clumsily.

"Seeing as how you are enthralled by the lesson Mr. McCloud," She pushed her silver reading glasses up to her face from her muzzle. "I asked you what was the most logical first target when tailing a flying V enemy formation? Fox gulped and his eyes darted back and forth.

"Uhm… uh…" He stumbled on his words and just went for it. "Uhm… the one… furthest… back?" A few chuckles snuck around the class at his oblivious tone. The instructor sighed.

"That is correct… good guess. Now pay attention." The vixen turned back to the dry-erase board and continued drawing out formation diagrams. Fox sighed, leaning back into the wall behind him, making sure to stare forward while daydreaming for the rest of the class. Little did he know, his chance to get back at Falco was only an hour away.

After the class, the members of Xavier's cadet squadron were called to a new section of the simulation training facility. They walked past the formation hangars and came to a much smaller room with two non-elevated simulators facing each other. On one end of the room was a set of bleachers and on the opposite side was a large video screen. The cadets glanced around to room wondering what the point of this smaller room was.

"Attention!" They all lined up in an instant as Xavier came in the door behind them. He strode out in front of them with a smirk on his face. "Gentlemen, it is time to see who's got balls in here!" He turned towards the two machines. "This happens to be my favorite training exercise and a very popular past time among all second to forth year recruits!" He turned back to them. "Just cause I love you guys oh-so-ever-much I pulled a few strings to allow us use of this room tonight…" The cadets were nervous, Xavier was dragging out, and suspense with him was usually not a good sign. He backed up and placed a hand on the left sim pod.

"This… is the dogfight simulator!" This caught everyone's attention. "It's highly unlikely that you will ever find yourself in a one on one situation in a combat zone, but you can never be too careful! And if that time were to ever come, you want to be sure that **YOU** are the better pilot!" He stepped away from the pod and back towards the cadets. "So right now we will have a few friendly one-on-one fights! Obviously two at a time and the rest can watch from the bleachers on this screen!" The cadet's were excited, but the order for attention was still active, so they did their best to contain themselves. "Alright then, I will get everything squared away, so just sit tight till I finish up!" He turned away from them. "At ease!"

The excitement almost erupted from the cadets as they were freed from the attention order. Fox was very excited; he would finally be able to fly against a real person. Even if it was just a simulation, at least his target would be controlled by a brain and not a computer. Bill had made his way over and the two began conversing about how they would take people on. As they continued, someone bumped (more like shoved) past Fox. He wasn't surprised when he looked up and saw Falco walking in front of him. Fox wasn't gonna let him get away with that, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"You trying the hit and run shove again? You need some new moves." Falco turned and raised his eye feathers.

"Oh sorry, I couldn't see you there, too much failure in the way." He teased.

_Dammit he's too clever with words!_ Fox grumbled in his mind as he tried to come up with a comeback.

"Let go of me, I don't want to get any "daddy's little fuck up" on my shirt." Falco continued.

"Alright you son of a bitch, I'm gonna…" He was cut off abruptly.

"Thug! Outlaw! Quit playing patty cake!" Xavier walked right up to them, grabbed Fox's arm with one hand and Falco's shoulder with the other, pulling them apart. "If you've got problems with each other, save it for later!" He turned away, but stopped only a pace away. His voice got hushed and sly. "Or…" He turned back to them. "This could make it more interesting…" The two looked at Xavier, slightly confused and afraid at where he was going. "You two!" He suddenly spoke up. "Get in the simulators! You're first up!" A quiet commotion stirred among the rest of the cadets. The son of James McCloud against the mystery prodigy. Xavier didn't even have to tell the rest to sit in the bleachers; they were already on their way up, eager to see this fight.

Fox and Falco approached the pods and climbed in. As they reached up to pull the hatches closed Fox shot a glare at Falco. Falco responded with his middle finger as he shut the hatch tight. Fox did the same, settling into the seat, pulling the safety harness down, and waiting for the simulation to begin. The screen came to life, mapping out simulated environment of a looped grassy field with clear skies. There was no take off procedure, they were starting in flight. Fox checked his radar, reading out target ten miles away straight forward. Fox began prepping his controls, making sure the "hover" switch was activated so he wouldn't fall like a rock when the simulation began. He grabbed the flight stick, pulling it back and forth once to test its grip and stability so he wouldn't have any surprises when he took control. Leaving his left hand on the stick, he reached out and placed his right hand on the throttle, awaiting the command to start.

A moment later words popped up on the screen reading, "Simulation begins in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…" Fox clenched the throttle tightly. "LAUNCH" Fox thrust the throttle forward, full tilt. The simulated fighter rocketed from its resting point, hurdling through the environment at the fighter's top speed of eight hundred miles per hour, surpassing mach one as it continued to gain speed. There was a loud simulated sonic boom following the fighter.

Fox's eyes were plastered forward, from the distance he heard another loud crack of the sound barrier being torn to shreds. Falco had the same idea. Fox quickly glanced to his radar as the ships closed in on each other.

_Five miles… _Fox thought to himself, glancing back up, and then back down. _Three miles…_ He looked up again, still nothing in sight. He made one last glance. _One m…_ He was cut off as green laser fire zipped past his cockpit. _SHIT! He's already firing!_ Fox did an inline twist, blindly firing back towards his attacker. A green and white blur zoomed past him. _There he goes!_ Fox pitched up and pulled up high as hard as he could. Due to his speed it was an extremely wide u-turn and he ended up climbing a good five thousand feet. He frantically looked to his radar to find Falco, but the dot appeared behind him. _WHAT?_ The cockpit jostled as a laser blast struck his fighter's left wing. Fox stabilized and forced the stick forward to take a dive. _How the hell did he get behind me?_ The dot stayed behind him. Falco was pursuing him with his own dive. Fox swayed his fighter back and forth with a twist here and there, doing his best to avoid the barrage of laser fire. He suffered two more hits, one to the nose of the fuselage, and another to the left wing. A beeping noise blared from his status board and the left wing was flashing red, indicating that the shields in that area were taking a beating and wouldn't last much longer.

_Shit! I can't shake him!_ _Unless… _In a completely twisted thought, Fox pulled an extremely dangerous maneuver. He grabbed the throttle and yanked it back; causing a very sudden and painful deceleration that almost caused his safety belt to knock the wind out of him. Falco's fighter swiftly swerved right to avoid colliding with Fox's ship. Fox instantly threw the throttle back to top speed while tilting the flight stick right. He caught a glimpse of an engine glow and pursued it, catching up to Falco, who had just managed to stabilize his ship after the near miss. Fox activated his targeting reticles, a transparent screen dropping down in front of him with blue translucent lights illuminated on it. He centered Falco's fighter I it and clamped his finger tight on the fire button. The green lasers spewed forth, but Falco twisted out of the way the instant they were fired. Fox's eyes opened wide. _No way! How did he know?_ Determined not to give up, Fox growled, and began firing sporadically. He did his best to keep Falco in his sites as his did. But it was like shooting air, Falco's fighter twisted and turned swiftly and gracefully, every attack from Fox gliding past without its mark.

"Dammit!" Fox yelled as he continued to hold tow the fire button. He perked up as Falco took a dive towards the ground."Oh no you don't!" Fox dove after him, their fighters screaming through the air, getting closer and closer to the ground. Falco began to level out to avoid crashing to the ground that was barely ten feet away now. Fox took this as an opportunity to target him again. But as he did, Falco suddenly fired his lasers into the ground, causing simulated dirt and dust to explode up from the ground. "Ah!" Fox swerved as the small bits of debris clinked and crashed onto his windshield. When he cleared the dust clouds, Falco was gone. "Shit!" Fox looked all around, but Falco was gone from his field of view. Fox looked as his radar, but there was nothing there too. _Where did he…?_ He was cut off as laser fire struck the ground near him. Fox shifted out of the way, but more blasts rained down from above. _How is he DOING that?_ Fox pulled back on the stick to get away from the ground, but as he moved higher into the air, the laser fire did not cease. Eventually he was at a level where his radar found Falco behind him again.

_Shit! Now what? He won't fall for the same trick twice!_ Fox's thoughts were cut off as two shots collided with his dorsal shield with bright green flashes that made his shield his eyes. He tried twisting and turning, but Falco seemed to just get more accurate the more he tried to avoid. His aft shield was struck next with three shots in rapid succession. Fox's mind raced, Falco was going for his engine. If he lost the engine, that was it. Another shot hit the back shield. The beeping in Fox's cockpit got louder as his ship status screen was blinking furiously. The shields were getting very week, especially around the left wing and engine. Fox panicked, getting extremely desperate. He would NOT lose to Falco, he HAD to set this asshole straight. But his shields wouldn't hold. Two more shots to his aft shield cause the engine protection to collapse, and the next hit made the entire cockpit shake violently. There was a small simulated explosion, and Foxes ship began trailing smoke. The beeping changed to alarm claxons as the left wing was hit again, collapsing those shields as well. Fox frantically glanced left and saw his left wing get taken off with a few more well placed blasts. The fighter began tipping left, and no matter how much Fox forced the flight stick right, the fighter continued to tip.

_No… he beat me… and I didn't even hit him…_ Fox gave up, letting go of the flight stick and sitting back, sighing, and closing his eyes waiting for the simulation to end with Falco's next move.

"_Dad! Dad!" The young kit yelled as he ran up to his father._

"_He there Squirt!" The fox kneeled down, removing his sunglasses and placing them in the chest pocket of his white jacket. He picked the kit up off the ground as he collided with him. _

"_Did you beat the bad guys again?" The kit asked eagerly as the fox put him back down._

"_Of course I did! Nothing can beat your daddy!"_ _The fox replied with a smile, rubbing the kit on the head._

"_Yeah!" The kit yelled joyfully. "Tell me all about it!"_ _The fox chuckled and pat him on the head._

"_Let's go see mommy first… I'm sure she wants to see me too!"_ _The fox grabbed the kits hand and they began walking._

"_Dad?"_ _The kit asked as they walked off._

"_Yes, Fox?"_

_"You think I can fly like you some day?" The fox smiled. He stopped and knelt down to be eye level with the kit. _

_"Of course Fox…as long as you never give up, and trust your instincts, you can do anything… but most of all…" He poked the kit in the chest. "Always remember to follow your heart…"_

Fox's eyes shot open. _NO! I'M NOT DONE YET!_ Fox had no idea how he came up with such an insane stunt, but it was all he had left. He was losing speed, but he still had momentum. In one fluid motion he jammed the throttle to neutral and flipped the switch for his hover jets. The engine cut and the jets fired below him. He yanked the stick left, turning his fighter all the way around. He was now flinging through the air backwards, facing Falco as the avian's blasters continued to pound Fox's ship, systems failing left and right. With the hover jets active though, the system was naturally trying to slow itself down. So by the time Falco realized what had just happened, his ship was practically nose to nose with Fox's.

"WHAT'S UP ASSHOLE!" Fox yelled at the top of his lungs and clenched the fire button with all his strength. The lasers burst forth, pelting the bow shield on Falco's ship. The shields collapsed in five strikes, allowing Fox to drive his lasers right through the armor plating. With an explosion, the entire nose of Falco's ship was torn off and the flying shrapnel also clipped off his right wing. Fox watched as Falco's fighter began to fall from the sky, just as his hover jets failed. The two simulated fighters fell until they struck the ground. With a very violent shake, the screen went black in Fox's simulator. He glanced up, his anger and adrenaline still pumping. Red letters flashed on the screen reading,

"Draw."

"Oh hell no…" Fox threw off his harness and threw open the hatch to the simulator. He hears whoops and hollers from the rest of the cadet's but he was not focused on them. He jumped out and glared right at Falco, who had just emerged as well. The two locked eyes and both snapped. They ran at each other yelling madly with their fists in the air. The cadets saw what was going on and quickly jumped from the bleachers to stop them, but not before they met and punched each other right in face, both punches landing at the same time on opposite cheeks. They both fell back and frantically stood up for another go, but Bill got a hold of Fox under the arms with the help of a few others to hold him back, likewise some of them with Falco.

"Fox! Dude! Chill! Chill!" Bill tried to calm him down to no avail.

"You son of a bitch!" Falco spat at Fox from the distance they were being held apart. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Ruin your perfect record huh? CRY ME A GODDAMN RIVER!" Fox retorted.

"I don't recall seeing the word LOSE on my screen asswipe!" Falco tried to wretch free, but the cadets had an iron hold on him.

"Didn't see WIN though huh?" Fox managed to get an arm free, but it was pulled right back.

"Did YOU see it?" It ended with Falco because Xavier stepped between them.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Xavier boomed getting the two of them to freeze solid. He glanced back and forth between them. "Fuck me sideways and pay the taxes… you two are the most difficult little shits I've ever seen in my life!" He got in Falco's face. "You've got anger? That's good." He moved to Fox and did the same. "You've got aggression? That's also good." He moved back to between them. "But may I remind you that you are also WING MATES! And wing mates are NOT TO FIGHT AMONGST THEMSELVES! I thought they drilled that into your fucking heads already!" He glanced at both of them. "I don't care how much pride you have." He walked a few paces away.

"On the other hand..." He turned back to them. "That was one hell of a dogfight… You two may have your behavior backwards, but you've got wings." He nodded to the cadets. "Let 'em go." They obeyed. Fox and Falco glared at each other.

Falco just gave him a "Feh…" And walked to the bleachers. Fox gave Falco an annoyed look to his back and did the same, sitting on the opposite side of the bleachers from Falco to watch the rest of the dogfights.

At the end of the session, Xavier let the cadets know that all the fights were recorded and sent to the higher-ups. He did not disclose the reason, but it meant that some of them might get moved to the next level of training. The answer came much sooner than they all thought: that being the very next day.

Fox shoved the hatch of his simulator open, as he finished a maneuvers test with a near perfect score. He removed the safety harness and exited the pod, sliding down the ladder to meet Bill, who had already pulled down the score monitor.

"987/1000… sweet run Fox!" He was met with a grunt of dissatisfaction.

"That's not good enough… I need to get perfect scores…" He started walking away from the pod. Bill shut off the monitor and caught up with him,

"C'mon man, you still cranky about yesterday? I thought you wanted to show Falco he wasn't perfect, didn't you do that?" Bill questioned.

"Yeah, but I didn't win." Fox continued, stopping near the other cadets.

"Well neither did he…" Bill was cut off as Xavier entered the sim hangar.

"Alright listen up!" All the cadets stood attention. "I didn't say attention did I? At ease cadets…" He laughed to himself as the cadets relaxed. Xavier was handed a clip board by a bulldog behind him. He took a look at it for a moment and gave the crew one of his smiles that meant something was up. "It looks like a few of you have caught the eye s of our senior commanders! Those of you whose names I read off will have the opportunity to move on from these image buckets and start flying a real training fighter! The following cadets are to report to the training hangar immediately…" The cadets all stood eager, waiting to see who would get the privilege to finally actually fly something.

"Step forward as I call your name… Cadet Jeffers!" A grey feline stepped forward. "Cadet Samson!" The brown ape stepped forward. "Cadet Peterson!" A white rabbit stepped forward. "Cadet Grey! Time to show us what you got Hotshot!" Bill stepped forward. "Cadet Williams!" A buck stepped forward. "Holy shit, they've done it now… Cadet Lombardi!" Falco stepped forward. "Try to be presentable will ya Thug?" Falco rolled his eyes, luckily not within the sight of Xavier. The husky continued the list, "Cadet Orlando!" The pig standing next to Fox stepped forward. Fox glanced back and forth, there were twenty cadets left, with his recent scores he was sure to get called no sweat. "And that's it…" Fox's eyes shot open.

_WHAT? Falco and Bill got in… even Samson and those other guys got in… but not me?_ Xavier put the clip board down on the table as the cadets called began leaving, but they were all cut off as a grey female raccoon barged in the room past him.

"Xavier! Hold on a second!" She pushed past the cadets, panting as if she had just run a mile.

"Ms. Tess? I didn't think General Pepper ever let you away of your desk!" Xavier joked to the woman.

"I know, but he seems to think that a secretary is also a delivery service…" She handed Xavier a note. "If he makes me do this again I'm demanding a raise…" She complained as she flipped her black and grey striped tail once angrily and left the room. Xavier just shrugged, looking at the front and back of the note before opening it. After reading it he chuckled and flipped it down on the table.

"You are one lucky son of a bitch…" He said, staring at Fox, who was still in shock of not hearing his name. "Cadet Outlaw! It looks like General Pepper himself has vetoed the senior commanders' decision on omitting you for reckless flying!" Fox's ears stood up straight and his tail fur stood on end. "Cadet Outlaw, report to the hangar with the rest of the cadets!" The cadets began shuffling out, but Fox stood still. Xavier raised an eyebrow. "OUTLAW! DO I HAVE TO REPEAT IT LOUDER?" Fox snapped from his daze and ran after the cadets yelling,

"SIR! YES SIR!"

Xavier shook his head and turned to the remaining recruits to give them their next instructions.

The cadets jogged into the large training hangar and were beckoned over to the opposite wall by the hangar overseer. They ran across the hangar, a total of fifty yards across, passing the three columns of training fighters. The hangar was a total of five hundred yards long with two open ends, one for entry, one for exit, with a very high ceiling to allow plenty of hover space. Mechanic trainees were running up and down the hangar with parts and tools, tuning up the ships to be ready and in perfect condition, practicing the roles they would take on should they become members of the Cornerian force. As the cadets jogged, Fox lagged behind due to his unexplained hesitation back with Xavier. In his attempt to catch up, he ran right into a green frog wearing a red baseball cap and a yellow mechanic jumpsuit, carrying two large boxes. The amphibian toppled over and the boxes along with him. Fox quickly stopped to help him.

"Oh geez, sorry buddy…" Fox grabbed the mechanic by the shoulders to hoist him up; it didn't take much since the frog was both short and not very heavy.

"Ouch… no, it's fine…" He said in a high squeaky voice. Fox let go of the frog and bent down to pick up the boxes. "Oh! Don't worry I'll get those!" The frog frantically waved his arms in attempt to signal to Fox that help wasn't required. Fox shook his head.

"No problem buddy, here." Fox restacked the boxes and handed them to the frog. "Oh shoot! I gotta go little guy, later!" Fox ran off towards the cadets as the frog stared at him in annoyance.

"Little guy? I'm sixteen…"

"Nice of you to join us Cadet…" The bald eagle paused to push up her spectacles on her beak look at her clip board with all the names on it. Unlike Xavier, she was dressed in business clothing, in a grey tailored suit. "Wait, why are you here? I don't have any names left…" She picked up the sheet, peering beneath it to make sure she wasn't missing another page. A large black bear behind her, decked out in a full Cornerian flight uniform of green slacks, green jacket with sewn in awards and logos, and white undershirt, stepped forward and whispered something into her ear before retaking his place like a statue behind her. "Oh! You must be Cadet McCloud… yes, General Pepper pushed you through the deferral… breaking almost every rule and condition to be this far in the training…" She sighed, shaking her head. "I guess a name can really get you places…" She said quietly as she penciled in Fox's name at the bottom of the list. Fox did his best to keep his expression from showing anger. He was getting sick of how many people used his Father's legacy to label him.

"Alright here's the deal, I am Talia Seraph, overseer of the training hangar… and this is Senior Airmen Brock McPhearson…" She motioned to the stoic bear. "You've all been cleared to fly the training fighters, a privilege usually only given to those halfway through their second year. Due to an interesting display of talent, you've all been cleared way early, but there's a few things you'll need to know first. Fortunately, I do not have the honor of telling you. You've each been assigned a trainee mechanic who is responsible for your designated fighter from this day forward. You three…" She pointed to Fox, Bill, and Samson. "You will follow Brock down that way to your fighters…" She pointed to her right down the massive hall of jets. "The rest of you follow me. Come on! On the hop!" She snapped her fingers and the others followed her. Fox watched Falco and the rest leave, but was surprised by a large hand on his shoulder. He turned and tried his hardest not to yelp when he saw Brock staring down at him with his huge menacing eyes.

"Quit day-dreaming… let's go." He ordered in a very, VERY deep voice. Fox didn't dare retort. The three cadets followed Brock down the alley, eventually dropping Bill and Samson as they went. He stopped at a fighter about twelve rows from the very back and pointed towards it.

"Thank you s—"

"Meet at the launch tunnel in fifteen minutes." Brock completely cut off Fox. And without saying another word, he trudged off. Fox just stood silently, watching the large animal disappear in the sea of training fighters.

"So much for the "big friendly giant…"" Fox said out loud. He turned to his fighter. It was quite thrilling to see an actual piece of machinery that he could fly. The simulators were fun and all, but now he was about to do the real thing. As for the fighter, it was the same shape and design as the normal Cornerian fighters with the sleek fuselage; two wings slightly angles off and a cone like fin off the back of the cockpit above the engine. The only difference from a real fighter was that it was all tan; none of the green air force markings. As Fox visually evaluated his new acquaintance, he saw a familiar figure step around the landing gear. It was the frog from before, tinkering with a panel on the underside of Fox's fighter. Fox approached him. "Hey."

"AH!" The frog jumped, dropping his screw driver. He quickly bent down, picked it up and faced Fox. "Don't scare me like that! … oh!" The frog recognized Fox from merely minutes ago.

"So you're my mechanic? Small world, huh?" Fox small talked.

"Out of over five hundred jets yeah I'd say so…" The frog continued to fiddle with the underbelly of the jet.

"Are you supposed to explain something to me?" Fox questioned, keeping an eye on the time so he wouldn't be late for Brock.

"Oh yeah! Just a moment…" the frog closed the panel and patted his hand against the ladder to the cockpit. "Climb on up, it's easier to learn if you can see it too."

"Fair enough." Replied Fox as he climbed up the ladder and plopped down in a real cockpit for the first time. The frog popped over the side as Fox looked over the controls, the only real differences he recognized right off the bat, were a few extra switches and no numbers on the throttle.

"Alright then." The frog began, "Everything is generally identical to the simulators except…" He pointed at the throttle, "No more numbers on the throttle, but you should know by now what the speed variants are." Then he pointed at a covered switch. "Flip this cover open and hit this switch…" he pointed to a lever tucked below the right side of the seat. "And it will unlock the ejection lever… I'm pretty sure you can put two and two together for what that does…" He pointed to a switch beside the radar screen. "This is the night vision, it will change up your windshield to be one big night vision lens… and lastly," He motioned towards a green button beside the ignition switchs. "This is the auto pilot, just input your coordinates into your ships mapping module and the ship will do the rest… great for long flights… but you will probably never use it."

"Seems simple enough…" Fox nodded in satisfaction. "This'll be a piece of cake." The frog sighed and shook his head.

"Don't be so sure…" The amphibian began, earning an interested glance from Fox. "The simulator is a perfect replica of a Cornerian fighter… but that's just it… it's perfect, designed to simulate a Cornerian fighter in perfect condition. No fighter is ever in perfect one-hundred percent condition."

"What? Isn't it your job to keep the fighters in top condition?" Fox asked, bewildered. The frog grunted.

"Well yes that is our job description thank you very much… but mechanics can't prevent parts from getting old or corroding… and as trainees we're only given so many materials to work with… If I had to venture an estimate though I'd say your fighter is currently at eighty-seven percent of its full capability."

"That's a welcoming thought…" Said Fox sarcastically.

"That's just in terms of overall performance though. Everything is in good enough condition for the plane to fly stably… I could fix it up completely… but like I said, they give us limited resources, unless we have a reason to require more… like if you, say, total the ship."

"Alright, alright, enough on that… that's definitely on the top of my not-to-do list. I'll bring her back in without a scratch." Fox assured his green friend.

"Good, less work for me then." He began to step down, but stopped after one step, pulling himself back up over the side. "Oh one more thing…" Fox stopped pulling down the harness to listen. "The simulator is also true to its name… a simulation. So all the g-forces, jerks, and sways were all fabricated, it's quite impossible to simulate them with a stationary pod… the real thing is quite a bit different, so be wary of that." Fox nodded.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind…" The frog began descending, but was stopped by Fox. "Oh wait!"

"Yeah?" The frog popped back up again. Fox stuck out his hand.

"I'm Fox by the way. Sorry I didn't introduce myself; spur of the moment I guess." The frog smiled.

"No problem. The name's Slippy. I'll detach the fuel lines and give you thumbs up when you're clear to begin."

"Sounds good." Fox ended with a nod as Slippy descended the ladder. Fox's move was to reach up and pull down the hatch, but he remembered he wasn't in the simulator. He glanced up, but the cockpit windshield was opened too far for him to reach it. He looked back at the dashboard and scanned for any extra switches, but there were none. Slippy stepped out into his view and flashed Fox the thumbs up, but Fox waved to him. "Slippy!"

"Yeah?"

"Not to sound stupid or anything, but how do I close the cockpit?" The way Fox put it made Slippy grin.

"No worries, it closes automatically when you start it up." He explained.

"Oh… pfft, thanks…" Fox chuckled as he pulled down the safety harness and hit the ignition switches. As the windshield descended, he activated the hover jets and released the landing gear. The slight jolt of the fighter catching the air startled him. _Oh geez… if that surprised me I can hardly wait for the rest…_ Fox carefully raised the fighter into the air above the others and began the same procedure from the simulator. He opened communications with hangar control. "Fox McCloud to Hangar Control, requesting permission to use taxi lanes."

"Permission granted Cadet, good luck!" The control attendant replied. Fox moved into the taxi lane and pushed the throttle slightly forward to propel his fighter at a safe speed towards the launch tunnel.

_Alright Fox… this is REAL now… just stay calm, and stay focused… You've earned this by chance… mistakes could mean your end…_ He prepped himself as he made it to the tunnel where seen other training fighters were waiting.

"Glad you could make it Fox!" Bill's face appeared on Fox's comm screen. Fox smiled.

"Sorry, couldn't get the cockpit shut." The two of them laughed as a ninth fighter approached behind them. All the cadets watched as a genuine Cornerian fighter hovered past them, but instead of green, it had sections painted blue to designate a Senior Airman Commander. Fox's comm screen sprung to life as he watched the high ranking fighter pass by.

"All cadets move into the launch tunnel… Nine Diamond formation on me…" The low voice of Brock commanded. Fox quickly complied, taking the far right spot in the third line. This formation was set up with the leader in front; two ships a wingspans length apart behind him, three behind those with the same separation, then two behind them, and one in the back to make the shape of a diamond. This caused a little bit of unease among the cadets, due to this being their first time actually flying. They had never thought such a tight, advanced formation would be called right off the bat. "Stay focused and keep your speed at regulation levels for launch… if you can all do that much I guarantee nobody will kill themselves…"

_That's a great way to keep us calm…_ Fox thought with his eyes wide in sarcasm.

"On my mark begin the acceleration process…" Brock ordered. Fox gripped the throttle.

_This is no different from the first simulation… but… I think I'm going to shit myself…_

"Three… two… one… launch!" On that order Fox pushed the throttle up; he was immediately pressed to his seat as the g-forces rushed against him.

_HOLY-!_ Fox mentally shouted. He had heeded Slippy's warning, but he wasn't expecting that much of a difference. The formation reached the acceleration point of the tunnel. Knowing he had to, so as not to cause a rear-end collision; Fox pressed the throttle to maximum launching speed. He squinted to keep the gravity forces from making his eyes tear up and get blurry. In seconds the squad was out of the hangar and steadily raising into the air. At this point Fox's nervousness was replaced with an adrenalin rush. He was flying. He was really flying.

"All aircraft… prepare for basic maneuvers." Brock ordered through communications. Fox snapped out of his crazed high and refocused forward, locking his eyes on Brock's ship. The formation swayed right, but most of the ships did not follow exactly, including Fox, who found the flight stick on his fighter was tighter than the simulators.

_Ah shit…_ Fox thought as he stumbled through the motion. Bad memories of Xavier yelling "STAY IN FORMATION!" began running through his head. But Brock's approach was a lot different.

"Don't worry if it isn't perfect right away… take time to get used to your ship's configuration and physical state… Once everyone's got it figured out, we'll try some more advanced movements…" Fox wasn't the only cadet surprised. This new stoic approach of instruction was the polar opposite of what they were all used to.

_I guess Xavier was right…_ Fox tilted the stick left to follow the formation. _Bill too…_ He was getting the hang of it. He just had to be a little harder on the control movements. _Once we get past the first year… they aren't so critical…_ Fox suddenly jerked the stick back because he almost went too far, which could have been disastrous. _But… they expect us to be responsible and not screw up…_

Another minute of easy flight movement and Brock spoke up again.

"Alright… it looks like everybody has the hang of it. Full turn. We'll try some more interesting moves as we head back." He pitched right slightly and the entire formation followed as they made a complete turn-around. "REMEMBER! …" He suddenly raised his voice, startling all the cadets. "Only partake if you believe you can… if a maneuver feels too dangerous for you, or you are unsure if you can pull it off yet, then drop out below the formation… there is no shame in knowing one's limits on the spot… a wise man backs down unless he is sure he is truly capable." With that in mind, four fighters dropped out of the formation and throttled down to keep a safe distance behind. Fox, of course, stayed put. He glanced at the designation of the ships still in the formation in his radar output. Besides him, Bill, Falco, and Samson stayed in.

"Figures…" Fox said to himself as the four remaining created a flying V formation with Brock at the point, Fox and Falco at his wings, and Samson and Bill in the back.

"Okay… Do as I do… and like I said… Don't be afraid to bail."

"We heard you the first time Spooky, let's get on with it!" Fox recognized Falco's voice over the speakers, sighed, and shook his head.

_He has ABSOLUTLEY no respect for anyone…_ he thought.

"You've got quite a noisy beak…" Brock replied. "Fine then… you lead."

"WHAT?" Fox yelled at the speaker even though his comm wasn't activated.

"Heh, now we're talkin'!" Falco shouted with satisfaction as Brock dropped below and let Falco in the lead, rising into Falco's spot. "Just try to keep up!"

_Oh boy… here we go…_ Fox was not going to let Falco throw him off.

Falco did a small dip followed by a large ascent upward into a wide corkscrew Fox followed, but was batted by vertical G's to the point where he could barely hold steady through the maneuver. When they all leveled out, Fox glanced at his radar to see that Samson had bailed, and that Bill was lagging behind a little. Falco quickly did half a twist and pushed his throttle full while facing upside down Fox and Brock followed, but Bill had just leveled out from the previous stunt, and the other three were out of range by the time he had his ship stable.

_Is that all you got Falco?_ Fox was going a bit loopy again, this time from a mix of adrenalin and the fact that he would NOT let Falco show off. Brock was following him no sweat, which was no surprise due to his experience, but Fox was having a few issues. Even all the time spent in centrifuge gravity training couldn't prepare him for the real deal. They were going top speed, and Fox was beginning to feel light headed. This was evident to the others when his fighter began to sway a little.

"What's the matter McCloud? You going soft on me?" Falco's voice taunted through the speakers. Fox exploded with anger, nearly breaking the switch to his communicator as he snapped it on.

"Not even breaking a sweat my fine feathered asshole!" They were interrupted by Brock.

"Cadets! Focus!" He ordered as Falco twisted back upright.

"Save it gramps!" Falco retorted before egging on Fox again. "Yo fluffy boy! Bet you don't have the balls to pull a barrel roll maneuver on me!"

"Oh I see someone is eager to be shown up! Fine!" Fox accepted. Brock's face appeared on the visual comm screen.

"Cadet McCloud! Do not- I repeat DO NOT attempt that! It is the most advanced flight maneuver known and performing it at top speed is just asking to pass out!" Brock's voice was no longer stoic and calm; it had changed into a much more critical and ordering tone. Brock was completely right; a barrel roll required one to twist while moving over the intended target. It sounds simple in theory, but few had mastered it. So Brock's warning certainly held its weight, but Fox wasn't listening. He jammed the throttle all the way up and held it there to activate his boost thrusters. Fox began approaching Falco, feeling like he was going to be ripped in half by the g-forces, but he could care less. He began the upward movement and pushed the stick all the way left, locking it into place to execute a twist. He was right above Falco now, facing upside-down, and halfway through the maneuver.

_WHAT NOW FALCO! WHAT N—_Disaster struck. The force was too much to handle and Fox blacked out. Thankfully it was only for a moment. He opened his eyes wide, short of breath and confused as to what was going on, his ears were ringing like mad. The world was spinning in front of him and he fought to re-orient himself. Eventually the ringing in his ears weakened, but was replace by,

"CADET MCCLOUD LEVEL OUT! CADET MCCLOUD LEVEL OUT NOW!" Fox recognized the voice as Brock. He blinked a few times and shook his head out, finally getting a hold of himself. But now he realized that he WAS spinning, and it wasn't just his head. In fact he was spiraling downward at a forty five degree descent. Not only that, but he was heading headlong towards the hangar. They had been going so fast that they had reached the hangar, which was the worst time Fox could have possibly decided to be rash. The last place he wanted to lose control of his ship was near the base itself. Fox grabbed the flight stick and yanked back on it, but there was little response. His momentum mixed with gravity was outweighing his engine power, and the wings could not fight against the amount of pressure.

"SHIT!" He yelled out loud as he tried and tried again to pull up. His first instinct was to reach for the eject lever, but if he did that, the fighter would surely run headlong into the base and possibly kill someone. So he went back to trying to level out his flailing fighter. "Come on…COME ON!" Fox yelled at his machine. And finally the fighter began to respond slightly. "YES! JUST A LITTLE MORE!" He encouraged his ship. He managed to level out just enough that the breaks would be effective. He pulled the throttle all the way back to activate the brakes, but since the fighter was still moving past it's max thrust velocity, it was more than the break flaps could take. Two shrill ripping noises caught Fox's attention as he looked from side to side, seeing an empty space where the break flaps used to rest. "Oh you've GOTTA be SHITTING ME!" Fox put both hands onto the flight stick as his mind raced through other possibilities. If he ejected now, he's survive, but the possibility of killing someone if not more people via his fighter as a projectile made him hesitate. _But if I don't eject… SHIT! What am I going to do?_

Then something came to him. He was only a few degrees off from the entry tunnel for landing in the hangar, it was risky, but if he could precisely use his hover jets upon entry, he could "soft" crash-land. It was his only logical chance. He immediately tugged the flight stick right, using what was left on his wings to slowly tilt towards the entry bay. His comm sprang to life.

"Tower to Cadet Trainer! Tower to Cadet Trainer! Pull up! Pull up now! You are on a collision course with the hangar!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" He yelled back into the communicator. "Look! I've got no breaks, too much momentum to control my ship, and if I eject, the fighter could kill someone! If nobody is going to die, then I need to use the hangar! Get the runway clear!"

"Unadvisable! Pull up Cadet!" The voice repeated.

"I JUST TOLD YOU I CAN'T! NOW CLEAR THE RUNWAY!" Fox belted back at the tower staff.

"Cadet, be reasonable! PULL UP!"

"God dammit!" Fox pounded the comm. switch off beside the flight stick, focusing back forward. The hangar drew closer and closer, and he was still at an awkward entry angle. Fox forced his hand through the pulling gravity forces and flipped on the switch for his hover jets. The jets activated and the fighter automatically tried to tilt itself to a level position to hover, but it was not having the effect Fox desire. The fighter's nose was still tilted down. The hangar was mere yards away now. _SHIT! I'M GOING TO CRA—_

His thought was cut off and a miracle occurred, one that probably saved his life. Because he has not fully made his way into the correct landing angle, his left wing did not clear the left edge of the hangar entry. It completely tore the wing off the fuselage, but also tilted what was left of the fighter slightly upward and into a spin. This allowed the hover jets to add just enough cushion for the fighter not to shatter upon impact of the hangar floor. As it struck the floor Fox's head was thrown forward and he struck his forehead on the dashboard. The fighter skidded diagonally across the hangar floor with a loud screech while kicking up sparks before colliding with the right hand side of the bay and coming to a halt.

The fighter lay still, completely totaled, slightly sparking and smoking from all the instant damage it had just received. There were no shields on the training fighters, so it was no wonder that it was in such a mess. Hangar personnel began running up the fighter as Fox force the safety harness off. He put his right hand to his forehead as it began to throb painfully. It felt wet; he removed his hand and noticed it was covered in blood. Then he noticed that the blood was trickling down his face, off his muzzle, and onto the controls. He was feeling really light headed, and could barely reach up to force the cockpit open, but he didn't need to. It was opened from the outside, followed by a few pairs of hands grabbing hold of him, and hoisting him up.

"He's alive!" He heard someone yell, followed by the sound of relieving sighs. Fox quickly swatted the hands away from him and tried to focus.

"Yeah… I'm not dead, I don't need help." He tried to convince the grey squirrel and brown rabbit that were trying to help him. He took one step and stumbled, almost falling out onto the floor.

"Oh I think you do." The squirrel replied, grabbing hold of him again.

"Your head looks like a fountain; we need to get you medical attention." The rabbit added. The sound of fighters entering the hangar overhead filled the room. They all landed nearby, followed by the pilots jumping out and running up to Fox.

"Fox! Holy shit, you're alive!" Fox's vision was getting blurry again, but he picked out this voice as Samson.

"God damn, don't scare us like that!" That was Bill. Fox normally would have responded, but he was busy being completely disoriented, along with the cringing knowledge that he royally screwed up after being pushed through on special notice to fly a trainer. With that thought clearly in his mind, he was led out of the hangar, and to the medical center.

...

"Kiera? The sun's already rising! We need to go!" Rhenease called into the house while standing outside. He was wearing formal attire, which for a Cerinian male, was just a small cloak with the family crest, a circle with three vertical lines through the center, stitched to it. His was a deep forest green and the crest was sewn in light blue.

"I know Rhen! Krystal's almost ready!" His wife responded from inside. He sighed, leaning up against the post that marked their residence, tapping his foot as he glanced at the sky again, then back down to see other families from the village beginning the trip to Cerin, the capital city of the planet and home of the great wise men. Finally he heard the tarp flap open and glanced towards his front door. Kiera was, as always looking her best with many assortments of jewelry and a ceremonial woven sheet over her shoulders that was white as snow. Behind her, rubbing her eyes and yawning, was a very sleepy Krystal, who despite her mother's suggestion, had stayed up later than she should have. She was wearing the very same outfit she wore the day before, with the added necklace she received for her birthday.

"Well now! Look who's excited to get going!" Rheneas joked as Krystal yawned again, stretching her arms and tail out straight, followed by a heavy sigh and droopy ears.

"I'm tired…" She complained. Kiera patted her on the head.

"I told you to go to sleep early…" She re-explained with a giggle.

"Well then…" Rheneas motioned to the road. "Shall we get moving?" Kiera nodded, grabbing Krystal by the hand and leading her towards the bustling road. Other children of the village were on their way as well, guided by their parents. Rheneas and Kiera greeted acquaintances form the village as they walked along the road. The village was soon behind them, and they along with their neighbors moved through the grassy plains and thin forests until they came to a much larger road. From the sky one would think they were looking at a river moving downstream towards the city, but it was really the crowd of millions of Cerinian vulpine all flowing like a current towards the large basin of Cerin.

Krystal became nervous at the site of so many her age. She had known of the ceremony, but she had never been to Cerin, and to see so many people in one place was foreign to her. The city soon came into view as the Cerinians flowed over a hill and down towards Cerin. The city was densely populated with huts and other larger constructs extending farther than Krystal could see. But one thing stood out among the packed urban population, and that was the massive stone temple that lay in the center of the city. It was said that the temple was hand carved out of a mountain over a million years ago by the Cerinian spirits themselves. It certainly seemed that way; there was not a building in the city that reached up to its ankles in terms of sheer colossal size. Its shape was that of one large tower, a cylinder with a three hundred yard radius, slowly closing into a spire at its zenith. Standing about half as high were four large meditation towers, forming the pattern of four corners of a square around the main tower. The elders spent their days in contact with the spirits within these towers, judging the state of the planet and how to go about keeping the population at peace.

Krystal had been staring at the temple for so long that she hadn't even noticed that they were now within the city limits. She was nearly pushed against her mother by the sheer density of the crowd. Their pace had slowed drastically as it seemed two different roads into the city had merged and were both trying to funnel into the temples approach.

"Father where are we? I can't see…" Krystal groaned in a mix of anxiety and discontent. Rheneas smiled at her.

"We are nearing the temple…"

"No, I mean, what's the city look like?" She was now trying to get her mind on other things to cope with her worry.

"Oh… not much different from our village, just a bit more packed, and bigger houses and huts." He replied while glancing about.

"Oh, okay…" She acknowledged him while looking at the ground.

_**Are you scared honey?**_ Krystal perked up, hearing her mother's voice in her head. She replied the same way.

_**Yes… I'm really scared…**_ She felt her mother squeeze her hand.

_**There's no need to worry, you will have a bright future no matter what the elders decide.**_ Her mother's words seemed to do the trick. She felt better and less tense.

_**Good speech.**_ Kiera heard in her head. She smiled.

_**Good eavesdropping darling.**_ She responded, earning a chuckled from Rheneas. They continued along the path to the temple. As crushed and cramped as they were within the crowd, it didn't stop them from moving forward little by little.

At last they made it to the temple, and once they had passed underneath the large stone entrance, they filed right into the bottom floor, which was a completely open prayer floor, all three hundred yards of the cylinder. Krystal's eyes grew wide at the sight of it. Their temple at her village would forever look very miniscule to her. They advanced into the circle. All around them Cerinian families with their nine year old children sat around awaiting the ceremony to begin. The chamber itself was lit by thousands of torches, half of which lined the walls all the way around, and the other half hanging from ropes on the ceiling. They were lucky in the fact that they had made it there earlier than most. They managed to find a place to sit only about thirty yards from the circular altar in the center. It really didn't matter how far they sat from the podium until the readings though, the great elder had the uncanny ability to talk to multiple minds at once, with no numerical limits. So every Cerinian in the temple would hear him. The temple monks worked as fast as they could to file the remaining Cerinians into the temple so the ceremony could begin on time.

Eventually every last Cerinian on route to the temple had arrived and was in place within the prayer circle. The stone doors were closed and the room went silent. Krystal glanced around; hoping to get a clue on what was going to happen next, but it came to her. Her mother and father assumed the traditional prayer position, so Krystal copied, kneeling down on her left knee, resting her right elbow on her extended knee. She closed her right hand into a loose fist, rested the knuckle of her index finger against her forehead and closed her eyes. But the result was not the same as back home. Her mind seemed to be opened, unlocked, and revealed. She could see and feel everyone and everything around her without the use of her eyes. Her attention was drawn to a gap in the crowd that was laden with a crimson woven carpet, extending all the way from the stairs leading up from the wall to the center altar.

Along this carpet walked eight figures, all struck with old age, and supported by staves, yet they all looked absolutely enchanting in their large white robes and countless tribal markings and tattoos. They looked like spirits themselves. They were the elders of Cerinia. At least the seven behind the lead were. The Cerinian leading them in was Zannin, the planets current great elder and most well known individual on the planet. His robe was black with very complex white designs sewn into it. His staff was not just a branch of wood like the others. It was crafted out of white, hallowed out stone with a large white crystal place on the top. His demeanor was truly majestic, yet his eyes looked as gentle as a child's. They arrived at the podium, and the seven elders took their places around the altar perimeter while Zannin ascended to the very center of the prayer hall. He stood strong and gave off a wrinkled, but warm smile.

_**Fathers… Mothers… and Children of Cerinia…**_ A voice made itself present in Krystal's mind. The voice was weak, but welcoming; holding a warmth that only a grandparent could create.** _We gather here today with a common objective… a tradition passed down through the ages of our people… and continued through those ages to promote peace, but mostly prosperity with the knowledge of one's future skills long before they use them in practice… Today is the day where all the children within the confines of our great sanctuary… will be pointed towards their life path, so they may live smooth lives free of worry… Now my fellow citizens of Cerinia… open your eyes so we may look upon each other as brother looks upon sister… as mother and father looks upon son and daughter… let us rejoice… and continue our sacred tradition…_**

She didn't know how or why, but Krystal knew that he was finished, and opened her eyes to view the elders for the first time in her life. They were actually there, and the great elder really had spoken to all of them at once. It was astounding, that an individual would be capable of such powerful mental abilities. She felt something grab her hand; she turned to see her mother smiling at her.

"Come sweetie… It's time." Krystal obeyed her mother, rising to her feet and following her mother's guidance towards one of the seven long lines being formed towards the large altar. Since they were close they managed to get a decent spot in a line, but they were still a good distance from the front.

Krystal was getting anxious. Many different thoughts swirled in her head, and she wasn't quite sure which one to accept. She knew this tradition was absolute and essential to the prosperity of the planet and the people, but her father's words from the night before were contradicting it.

_Just follow your heart… _She thought to herself. _But… if my life is predetermined for me… then how can I?_ She was confused. It almost seemed as though there was a war in her mind over the thoughts keeping with the tradition, and running away right now, forgetting everything and living how she wanted. Both Rheneas and Kiera could feel all these thoughts pouring from her. Kiera was about to try and comfort her, but Rheneas cut her off.

_Just leave her be Kiera…_

_But Rhen… can't you feel it? She's absolutely petrified!_

_I know…_ Rheneas shook his head. _But we can't hold her hand forever… she can handle this; she's not so little anymore._ Kiera sighed, defeated.

_You're right… I'm just as worried as she is…_ They were getting visibly close to the elder taking care of their line. _Just stay strong Krystal…_

Krystal was doing her best, but she was getting more and more terrified with ever pace taken. They were close enough to see the elder at work now. Placing his and upon the head of a boy. A soft white glow appeared around his hand for a few seconds before he opened his eyes and released the boy.

"Hunter." Pronounced the elder with a smile. The boy's parents bowed to the elder and thanked him, moving into the exit aisle. The line shifted forward and a girl stepped up to the elder. The same process ensued and he proclaimed, "Crafter." Krystal didn't like this. Framer, crafter, hunter, guard, chief, ambassador, gatherer, lumberjack, miner, fisher, monk, musician. Everything seemed so simple, so watered down. It was the only weakness of the perfect society… no adventure.

Krystal's eyes shot open as she realized that the family in front of them had just finished with the elder. She reached over and clutched her mother's arm as if desperate for comfort in a situation she clearly wasn't sure of. Kiera knelt down beside her.

"It's okay Krystal… we're right here with you." She spoke to comfort the quivering kit. Krystal nodded and walked with her parents towards the elder. Krystal refused to let go of her mother's hand so Kiera stayed with her as the elder smiled down at her.

"Hello little one…" He said calmly. "What is your name?" Krystal looked up towards her mother once. Who smiled and nodded back to her.

"I-I'm K-Krystal…" She stuttered. The elder chuckled.

"There is no need to be afraid, child." He reached out his hand. Krystal closed her eyes and bent her ears down as if trying to prolong the time it took for him to touch her. She let out a small yelp as his hand rested atop her head and kept her eyes sealed shut as he worked. The white glow formed over his hand. A few seconds past, which was how long it had taken with every other kit, but he continued. Rheneas and Kiera watched, wondering why it was taking so long. The elder's smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion. His eyebrows vaulted up and down, furrowing his brow as if something was the matter. The people behind them in the line began peeking over shoulders and leaning out of the line to see what the hold up was. The glow faded from the elder's hand, and he removed it, but he opened his eyes and gave Krystal a strange look. "That's… strange…" He said.

"What? What is it?" Rheneas questioned. Kiera looked back and forth between the elder and Krystal.

"I… couldn't…" The elder spoke slowly, trying to put the pieces together as he did. He didn't finish though. He turned around and ascended the podium.

"Hey!" Rheneas yelled after him, but he stopped as he saw the elder speak to Zannin. The great elder glanced over the elder's shoulder to catch a glimpse of Krystal, and then turned back to the elder and nodded. The elder stepped aside as Zannin descended towards Krystal. Krystal herself was even more worried now. The whole room had ceased productivity. The rest of the elders sensed the confusion and had turned to see her, along with practically everybody else in the temple. Had she done something wrong?

"This child?" Zannin questioned, turning back to the elder, who nodded. Zannin knelt down in front of Krystal. "Your name is Krystal correct?" It was strange. Perhaps it was the welcoming air of Zannin himself that cause her fear to vanish. She found absolutely nothing to be afraid of from him.

"Yes." She answered, no longer shaking. In everyone's amazement, the great elder himself reached out and placed his hand atop Krystal's head. She didn't close her eyes this time. She stared directly at him as he worked. His hand began to glow a light blue and he closed his eyes. Rheneas and Kiera watched, wondering what the whole commotion was with their daughter.

"This is…" Everyone perked up as Zannin spoke. "…interesting." The glow faded and he opened his eyes. "I can't read her future either…" A collective gasp and a plethora of murmurs instantly spread across the entire temple. Kiera and Rheneas stared at Krystal.

"Wha… what does that mean?" Kiera questioned Zannin. But the great elder only smiled.

"No need to fret… daughter of Cerinia." He addressed Kiera. "This is actually a wondrous occasion!"

"What do you mean?" Rheneas tried to press. Krystal, knew something wasn't right. Even her mother and father were confused about it, so something had to be wrong. Zannin however, only held up his hand to Rheneas.

"Patience my son…" He closed his eyes and once again worked his amazing telepathy.

_**My fellow Cerinians… do not be alarmed by the sudden halt of the ceremony… a great discovery has been made, one that is truly a godsend. Please, reform your lines and continue, but I must take my leave, there is a sacred prophecy I must carry out.**_ He opened his eyes, and along with the confused murmurs, the rest of the Cerinian's filed back into their lines to continue. Zannin returned his focus to Krystal and her parents.

"Please come with me… all three of you." Krystal looked at Kiera, who looked at Rheneas, who shrugged. The three looked forwards and nodded, following the great elder as the monks made sure there was a path open for them. They approached the stairs leading up the wall and to higher floors. This was enough to surprise Kiera and Rheneas. Nobody was ever allowed up into the upper levels of the temple unless they were monks or elders. They reached the second floor after ascending more steps than Krystal hand ever walked on before in her life, and they emerged in another large room that was nearly identical to the one below, but considerably smaller since the walls of the temple slanted in sharply as one climbed higher. It was another praying circle, but this one was just for monks, evident by the countless monks wearing light green robes, meditating. Krystal was barely able to take in the surroundings before they reached another set of steps. Here the monks following them stopped, catching the attention of Kiera and Rheneas.

"Um… great elder?" Rheneas called, Zannin turning to face him. "Isn't this… sacred ground? I doubt it is right for us to go where even the monks are not allowed…" Zannin just flashed another one of his welcoming smiles.

"Believe me… all three of you have earned the right." Before he could continue, Kiera cut him off.

"But how? You haven't told us anything!" Nothing seemed to annoy or anger Zannin.

"It is something that you must both see and hear." He ended it there and continued. Rheneas and Kiera looked at each other again before reluctantly following. The second floor had a very high ceiling, so much that it was hard to see the top from the floor. The ascent took quite a while. They emerged on the third floor, where the elders congregate, again questions of validity in terms of being allowed poured from Rheneas and Kiera, but the Elder continually insisted that they were beyond qualified. So they continued upward and made it to the fourth chamber, where none but the great elder himself was allowed.

The room was about fifty yards in diameter with a large altar at the center similar to the one on the first floor. Zannin beckoned them to follow him up to its apex, which they obeyed and followed. They stayed at the edge of the final step and watched Zannin as he approached and stood in the center. He gripped his staff and pressed its butt into the center of the stone. With a flash of colors, white lights began to draw out lines from the center, reaching the steps and spilling down the stairs like streams of water. Something appeared out of thin air above the elders head, wrapped in a crimson glow. It descended from the ceiling and stopped right in front of Zannin, who reached out to obtain it before turning back to the family.

"There is a prophecy…" He began as he beckoned them towards him. "An ancient tale handed down through the generations of the elders…" The family slowly approached him as he spoke. "There are few who know of this, so listen closely…" The three stopped a few paces away and listened intently. "I fear that a bleak future approaches… and the planet will inevitably be in danger…" He threw his free hand up. "But not from the planet… from strange forces foreign to us…" He let his hand drop back down. "So it has been proclaimed by the spirits and the elders for many years…" He turned away from them. "I was afraid there was nothing we could do… in fact the day grows closer and closer with the answer still out of our grasp." Then he turned back to them and looked directly at Krystal.

"That solution, was in the form of this prophecy… it is said that one day a child will be born… on whose destiny is a mystery… whose future cannot be foretold…" Rheneas and Kiera perked up at this. They could see where this was going, but they were not sure how to take it. "It was said this child was destined to become a legendary warrior… one with the ability to rid worlds of evil with the power of the spirits themselves!" Krystal wasn't sure what to think. Suddenly a simple life didn't sound so bad, because this was getting very complicated. "I had long abandoned the possibility of ever finding this individual… but when you appeared today… I couldn't believe it!" He reached out his hand, and in it laid a small cylindrical object with carved spiritual markings upon it. It was about a foot long and had structures fixated on both ends. On one end it was egg shaped and gold, with a sapphire fixated in its center. On the other end was a long golden frame that held a large, sky blue crystal. Krystal eyed the strange object and looked back up at the elder with complete naïve innocence.

"Young Krystal… I believe you are our warrior…" He held it out to her and she stared at the object for a second. Slowly, she moved her right arm and reached for it, grabbing it in her hand. The elder smiled and retracted his arm, standing up to watch. Krystal eyed the odd piece of metal work. She suddenly felt a strange sensation in her body, one that she couldn't describe. Her hand felt warm, as if her new possession was giving off its own heat. Suddenly the object began to glow and without warning, extended with the shrill noise of metal sliding against metal. She yelped in surprise as the object elongated to five and a half feet, the gold egg had shifted; revealing two attachments on both sides like small flaps, and the crystal at the bottom of the staff was alight. They all stared in awe at the new development. The great elder nearly cried out in joy.

"Krystal! The Spirits Staff had accepted you! You are the chosen one!" He yelled gleefully. Rheneas and Kiera were speechless. They never had expected anything like this to happen. It was such a sudden turn of events that Kiera was having enough trouble standing up. Rheneas couldn't take it. There had to be a catch. Even though Krystal did end up, with a twist of fate, as some supposed savoir, he wasn't sure about it.

But its validity was soon confirmed to both of them, as the great elder knelt down and bowed his head before Krystal. The great elder, most renown and venerable individual on the planet had just knelt down to their nine-year-old daughter. Krystal herself stared at the staff in wonder. It was a powerful artifact; she could feel its energy within her body as if it had chosen her to wield it. She suddenly felt as though she knew exactly what she had to do. All of her fears and worries had vanished. She had found a way to be different… and she was going to follow through with it. But even she gasped in surprised when the great elder was before her in a submissive position. "Krystal…" he began in an almost begging voice. "Please become a beacon of hope… please become a shield against evil!"

Her mind was set, it was clear what she wanted to do, and this was the perfect opportunity to make a difference in her own way. She turned back to her mother and father, who were both still in shock at Zannin's actions. They both looked at her, Kiera wasn't sure what to think, but a look from her father said it all. _Remember Krystal… Follow your heart…_

She turned back to the elder and knelt down to mirror him.

"Great Elder…" She addressed him politely. "I accept."

...

"Uhhh…" Fox groaned as he turned over in his bed. He opened his eyes to a blur of light shining from the far window of the barracks. "Shit…" He wobbly sat up, holding one hand to his head. He still had a large white bandage wrapped around his forehead and his headaches were non-stop. Sure, he had been given the day off due to his injury, but that didn't mean he was comfortable. _There's no point in sitting here all day…_ He was told to stay in bed and get some rest, but he was bored out of his mind. _Maybe I'll go check on my fighter…_ When he asked yesterday, they had mentioned that as his mechanic, it was Slippy's responsibility to repair Fox's fighter. Fox left the building and made his way across the courtyard, towards the training hangar. _He's probably steaming mad…_ Fox chuckled to himself. _I completely totaled the thing… he's gonna be working on it for weeks… well, after my performance I doubt they'll let me near an actual fighter anytime soon... _

His thoughts trailed off as he stopped in front of the hangars front entrance, pulled out his ID card, and swiped it in the key slot. The door unlocked and he walked right in. He got a few looks from a lot of people as he walked by. _Great… they all know who I am now… Klutz son of James McCloud… got too big for his own shoes and paid for it…_ He came to the hangar and made his way down the aisle towards his fighter's landing space. _Hell… I could be discharged for this… why would they ever…_ He froze completely, staring straight forward towards a completely new fighter sitting in his space. "Uh… What?" He approached the fighter, looking it up and down. "Did they just buy a new one?" He said to himself.

"Nope." Fox jumped as Slippy's voice came from behind the fighter. Fox leaned over to see Slippy replacing a panel on the left wing. "I just finished repairing it… Should fly just fine now." Fox's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. He glanced between the fighter and Slippy multiple times.

"Wait… you… mean to tell me… that you fixed up a COMPLETELY totaled fighter… IN LESS THAN TWENTY FOUR HOURS?" Fox yelled hysterically. Slippy looked down and traced a circle on the floor with his foot.

"Um… yes?" He replied.

"That's… INCREDIBLE!" Fox exclaimed while gawking at the fighter. "Man! You'd think you were related to Beltino Toad or something!" Fox joked, mentioning the most renowned inventor/mechanic in the Cornerian forces. Fox expected Slippy to laugh or at least chuckle, but he got no response, causing Fox to cease laughing and glance back at him.

"Uh… actually…heh…" Slippy didn't need to go any further.

"No way…" Fox was convinced that he had actually hit a fact.

"Yeah, I am his son…" He sheepishly finished. The irony was unbelievable, how in the world would the son of James McCloud get the son of Beltino Toad as his mechanic? Beltino was great friends with James after all, and the inventor of the Arwing super fighters. But then Fox put two and two together and calmed down a bit.

"You know, my father is James McCloud…" Fox added. Slippy perked up.

"Wh-wh-wh-whaaaaat?" Fox couldn't help but laugh at Slippy's response, but before they could continue, they were interrupted.

"Hey sleeping beauty! Thought you were supposed to be in bed all day!" Fox recognized that jackass voice anywhere.

"What the hell do you want Falco?" Fox rolled his eyes as he turned to face the avian.

"Thought I'd see if you were still alive or not." The falcon teased, flicking Fox in the head, which the vulpine slapped away angrily.

"You know this WAS your fault!" Fox spat back.

"Last time I checked YOU were the one who took my bet." Falco sneered, making Fox red in the face. Slippy tried to jump between them.

"Hey, hey! Guys! Please don't fight!" He tried to convince them, but he got an ice cold stare from Falco.

"Who's this little bitch McCloud? You hanging out with four-year-olds now?"

"What? I'm sixteen!" Slippy yelled.

"Quit croakin' twerp." Falco grabbed Slippy's hat by the tongue, lifted it off his head, and held it just out of his reach.

"Hey!" Slippy squeaked while trying to jump for his hat.

"C'mon! I thought frogs could jump!" He shoved Slippy with his free hand, causing the amphibian to tumble to the ground. And fall against the fighter's landing gear. Falco laughed and put the hat on his head sideways. Fox had had it; he reached out and grabbed Falco by the collar.

"You are such a bastard!" He raised his fist, but held it there. Falco smirked.

"Do it McCloud. I DARE YOU." Falco egged him on. But Fox stood still, remembering that the last time he followed a bet by Falco it almost cost him his life. It took a near death experience, but Fox knew that he had to start thinking before he acted. The whole scene was interrupted by the hangar loudspeakers.

"FOX MCCLOUD PLEASE REPORT BACK TO THE BARRACKS WHERE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE." Fox recognized the voice as General Pepper's secretary. The transmission cut, followed by a lot of laughs from around the hangar. His fist shook behind him for another moment before he sighed and let go of Falco, who laughed.

"Finally backs down?" He grabs Slippy's hat of his head and flips it down into Slippy's lap. "In the end, just a wuss like the rest…" He turns and walks off with his beak in the air guffawing. Fox's hand was still in a fist and shaking. Slippy retrieved his hat and picked himself off the ground, brushing himself off.

"Gee Fox… you shoulda let him have it!" Slippy exclaimed while adjusting his hat back between his eyes. "Taking my hat is like a crime…" He mumbled. Fox only shook his head.

"No Slip. I've already made enough of a dent in my rep through that son of a bitch… it would have just made things worse…" Slippy didn't say anything, just watched as Fox began walking away. "I better go report… thanks for fixing the fighter so fast…" And with that he was on his way back to the dorms.

"Fox McCloud repoOOOOAAAAHHH!" Fox quickly stood up straight and at attention as soon as he entered his squad barracks.

"Hah! My dear boy, please! At ease!" A gruff refined voice commanded. Fox tried to relax and addressed his guest.

"G-G-G-G-General P-P-P-Pepper! H-H-How are you s-s-sir!" He stammered, still stiff as a statue. The golden boxer terrier sighed and paced towards Fox, all the medals jingling on his bright red uniform, and his black leather boots squeaking on the floor as if they were polished moments ago. He stood directly in front of Fox and placed both of his hands on Fox's shoulders, steadying the vulpine until he stopped shaking.

"There. Now please relax! I hate it when people pull the whole stiff attention thing with me!" He chuckled. Fox somehow found the means to relax.

"Sorry…" Fox replied. "I'm just following…"

"…standard superior officer addressing procedures, I know." He finished for him. "I wanted to talk to you personally Fox." He proclaimed as he began to pace around the room. Fox realized that this was probably going to be about his little accident with his training fighter. "Now Fox, when I watched your dogfight replay, I saw something that I hadn't seen in a very long time…" He turned to face Fox. "…Raw courage and determination to bring down the enemy even though your own demise was imminent. I feel that too many of our pilots are worried about their own safety now-a-days over the safety of those they swear to protect… You've inspired me to look forward to the future!"

"T-thank you sir…" Of all things, Fox wasn't expecting praise.

"Ahem! That being said…" His tone turned serious.

_Uh oh…_ Thought Fox as he gritted his teeth.

"I pushed you past Command's decision to keep you in the sims, because I thought you were just the kind of pilot we needed… but you may have proven to be too reckless, you are lucky to still be alive, and we can't have cadets around that are prone to killing themselves!" Fox stood perfectly still, not showing any means of justifying his actions. How could he? Everything the general was saying held weight.

"Sorry sir…" Fox choked out.

"That won't always cut it Fox. I stuck out my neck for you, and I'm already getting flack for doing so after this incident… however…" Fox looked away. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He was hoping General Pepper would just kick him out and leave it at that.

"The way you managed to pilot your fighter back into the hangar at just the right angle to survive the crash… was remarkable!" Fox's eyes opened into an eyebrow raise.

"S-sir?" The conversation was becoming a rollercoaster of goods and bads. _It was mostly a stroke of luck that I didn't die…_ Fox thought to himself as the terrier stepped forward and placed a hand on Fox's shoulder.

"Fox, you had the option to eject, but you didn't want to risk other's being hurt… am I right?" He was dead on, Fox couldn't believe it. It was like Pepper had read his mind.

"Um…uh…" Fox stammered.

"No need to be humble boy! You think just like your father you know that? No matter what the cost you put the lives of others before your own…" Fox just stood still; he didn't feel like he was part of the conversation to begin with so he decided to stay silent. The general removed his hand from Fox's shoulder and tucked his arms behind his back. "You see Fox… despite the ups and downs of your performances… I'm giving you another chance…" Fox's eyes lit up. "But!" the light faded quickly as General Pepper leaned in close to his face. "Don't let anything else bad happen… you are on thin ice… I don't know if Command will accept any more screw ups." He explained. Fox gulped.

"Yes sir! I won't let you down!" He replied.

"See that you don't. I am expecting great things from you…" The general began moving out of the room. As he past Fox, the vulpine got halfway through a salute before Pepper caught his arm. "Please don't, I get enough of that in my office…" Fox nodded sheepishly and let his hand fall, still staring forward as General Pepper exited behind him.

As the door closed, Fox exhaled loudly, slouching over and touching his toes before reversing up and leaning backward to crack his back.

"That… was terrifying…" He said to himself as he trudged over to his bed.

_But… I've been given another chance… no more screw ups… no more letting Falco get to me… I'm gonna do this right…_ He flopped down, back-first, onto the bed. _I will do it father… I'll never forget what you said… I'll always follow my heart…_

All great tales have to start from scratch…

All great achievements have to be worked for…

All great destinies have to be uncovered…

And all great heroes follow their heart…

-To Be Continued-

* * *

And there we have it. All stories begin somewhere. Even the greatest of heroes had to learn to walk at some point. This will be a story of achievement, inspiration, unity, courage, and love.

Now as i said, do not expect frequent updates on this until i have finished my other works, but from time to time i will do a little on this to keep the ideas fresh.

As i always say with all of my stories, thank you very much to all those who read and review my story, you are the best and i appreciate you all deeply.

Please read and review!

Flashgunner over and out! (I gotta stop saying this XD)


	2. The Inspirations That Drive Us

Well now! What have we here? Yep, as i said before infrequent updates will be made to this story and my Pokemon story fro time to time until i complete my current main works. So for those of you who wish to see how things start to unfold, here's some more!

This is the second installment of my upcoming work, Follow Your Heart.

story

"talking"

_thinking_

**Emphasis**

LOUD

**_Telepathy_**

(Me talking)

Enjoy!

* * *

Written by: Flashgunner

Part 1: Walking the Path

Ch. 2: The Inspirations that Drive Us

"Hey! Come quick! McCloud and Lombardi are going one on one again!" A white mouse yelled to a group of cadets as he poked his head into the barrack's lounge. Instantly all the cadets were on their feet and funneling out the door. As they crossed the courtyard, cadets from other buildings filed into the yard, all moving towards the face off combat simulators. When they reached their destination, pushing and shoving ensued as everyone was trying to squeeze their way into the already massive crowd. Everyone was trying to get a good view of the screen, where two fighter images dashed and zipped around each other intensely.

"Cadets! Please give us some room here!" The Stallion in charge of the simulation run pleaded as two Doberman officers tried to keep the crowd from crushing him and the evaluation crew. In the back of the crowd, three figures donning white jackets stood and watched quietly.

"You should have expected this Dan…" One of the Dobermans began. "These two are a popular sight."

"I know…" The horse sighed. "But General Pepper insists on having these two fight all the time…" He was cut off as a collective "OOH!" Erupted from the crowd as the two ships on the screen fired upon each other during a contest of "chicken". Both fighters were struck and sent into a spiral, colliding, and exploding. The wow's and amazing's continued as the screen went black and the simulator hatches opened. Fox jumped out of his and only had a second to turn before Falco stomped towards him, pointing angrily.

"What's your DAMN deal McCloud? Always gotta ruin it!" Fox smirked at the livid avian.

"Aw what… hate me 'cause I'm always keeping you from being perfect? Well TOUGH feather duster!"

"Wanna fight me daddy's boy?" Falco squawked at him. The crowd around them backed up, knowing full well how Fox took insults linked to a certain parent of his.

"Oh you just had to bring up my father didn't you…" He pushed up his sleeves. "You remember what happened last time you did."

"I believe I beat the stuffing out of you." Falco put up his fists. Just then, Bill and Samson stepped in between them.

"Alright fellas, not this time… You don't want to have to explain yourself to the higher ups again do you Fox?" Fox's expression hardened and he let out a grunt of anger before letting his sleeves fall and turning his back.

"Seriously you two… do you ever stop fighting?" Samson directed mainly at Falco, who just scoffed and turned away.

"I'll get ya one of these days McCloud…" The falcon said quietly before storming off. The stallion tried to stop him for his results but Falco was already out the door.

"Fox man, why do you let him get to you? We've put up with him for two years now, you gotta just let him run his mouth, it'll get him nowhere." Bill patted Fox on the back.

"I don't know Bill… he just gets on my nerves… thinking that he should be perfect and all… nobody is perfect. I just wish he would stop being so uptight… and if her mentions my father one more time I swear I'm gonna…"

"Give him a good thrashing?" A deep voice behind him finished the sentence for him. Fox's ears snapped upward as he heard the phrase his Father always used, in a very familiar tone of voice. He snapped around and his eyes grew wide as a Fox, a few inches taller than he, wearing a white jacket over a green pilot uniform and a pair of sunglasses dangling from his coat pocket, approached him.

"F…Father!" Fox turned and ran to him and nearly tackled him.

"Whoooa there!" James joked as he was nearly knocked over. He returned his son's hug and put him at arm's length. "Good to see you kid!"

"I haven't seen you in ages! How've you been?" Fox giddily questioned.

"A job here, a payment there… the usual Mercenary work… How about you? That was some fancy flying in there!"

"Haha! Thanks! I've been training!"

Bill watched from a few feet away, not only surprised at the sudden entrance of **THE** James McCloud, but the fact that Fox was completely different around his father. Then he wondered why there wasn't a crowd forming around him. He looked to his right and saw the other two members of the Starfox team, Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar, were keeping the crowd occupied with autographs.

"It's good to see you've come so far son… maybe one day you can fly with us!" He patted him on the head.

"That would be awesome!" Fox energetically replied. James felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Pigma behind him.

"Meeting's in ten." He said, earning a nod from James. Pigma looked at Fox briefly, and then returned to Peppy.

"Alright son, we've got a meeting with General Pepper. I'll see if I can find you later before we leave. Catch you later!"

Fox casually waved as his father and the Starfox team left the room. A few people approached Fox and began praising his father, but he wasn't listening. He was still taking in the moment, for it wasn't often he got to see his father, and ever since the untimely passing of his mother, anytime he saw his father was a real heart-raiser.

It had been two years since Fox first joined the Cornerian air force academy. Luckily for him, after the huge screw ups a few weeks into his career, things have only gotten better for him. His scores were almost perfect and his flying had become skillful and crisp. Bill was on the rise as well, earning many high marks in terms of coordination and command. Falco, of course, was still a jerk, but he provided intense competition for Fox. Slippy had become a good friend, and a very useful one at that; Fox was sure there was nothing Slippy couldn't fix.

Seeing his father had made Fox look back on all the experiences he had and lessons he'd learned for the past two years as he looked towards the high command tower where his father was meeting with General Pepper.

"Yo Fox! You coming?" He turned his head from the large cafeteria window to Bill. Slippy was right beside the greyhound bouncing up and down.

"Yeah! Come on! I want to see the Arwings!" Fox nodded and began shuffling through the loose crowd of cadets towards his two friends. Slippy had gotten permission from his father to come to his personal hangar where the Starfox's famous Arwings were docked. Fox kept thinking to himself about how things had all been going better for him as he approached his friends.

"FOOOOXY!" Well at least almost everything was great.

"Oh no…" Fox glanced over his shoulder to see a female lynx following his path through the crowd towards him, she had large hoop earrings in her tall black ears, she had her sleeves rolled up on her uniform and her shirt was unbuttoned more than any of the instructors would deem appropriate, and she moved with a very noticeable sway in her hips. When she saw Fox glance at her she waved giddily.

"Heeey!" She squealed out and began moving faster towards him. Fox quickly turned back to Bill and Slippy.

"Shit! It's Miyu! Guys run!" Fox was passed them before they could register what he had said. But Bill, chuckling in knowing what had spooked Fox was soon following him, with Slippy catching on a little late and almost losing them in the hall.

Miyu Link. A second year who joined the Cornerian academy a year after Fox. She is very tomboyish in personality, but once she met Fox, her girlish side emerged. The moment she laid eyes on him she developed a massive crush. Fox however, does not like that fact at all. He tries his hardest to avoid her, because he is, "there to become a pilot, not to frolic with girls." Miyu, being competitive in nature, completely disregards Fox's standpoint, and continuously chases him around. Fox in turn, always runs at first sight of her.

As Bill turned a corner while running after Fox he ran smack into someone casually strolling through the hall.

"Eek!" The person shrieked as she fell over. Bill stumbled, but kept his footing. He quickly stopped in his tracks and knelt down to help the person.

"Oh jeez, sorry 'bout that… Are you alright?" It was a female snow-white poodle. With a large red bow tied into the fur on the back of her head and had two long floppy ears that hung down to her shoulders; the way she had them styled made it almost look like she had hair, which wasn't a physical trait of the canine race. Something was strange about her uniform, because she had both the pilot and mechanic badges sewn into the shoulder.

"Y-yes… I'm fine…" She stuttered as she barely looked him in the eye.

"Here…" Bill offered her his hand. She stared blankly at it for a moment. "I ain't gonna bite." He joked.

"Oh! S-sorry…" She took his hand and he helped her off the floor. She was a whole head shorter than him, and by putting two and two together through her actions, Bill figured she was very shy.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" Bill joked again. The suddenly Slippy waddled by yelling.

"FOOOOX! WAIT UUUUP!" Bill glanced after him and gave a quick small wave to the girl.

"Whoops… gotta go! Sorry again 'bout running into you!" He took off after Slippy. The girl watched him disappear around the corner and glanced at her hand. She made it into a fist and brought it up to her chin. A small blush formed on her cheeks.

_He was cute…_ She thought to herself as she continued on her way.

Fay White. A new recruit the same year as Miyu. Setting a new standard in the Cornerian academy by taking on the rolls of both pilot and mechanic. Very quiet and shy in nature, and doesn't talk very often. Because of this it is little known by others that she is the niece of General Pepper, the daughter of General Pepper's younger sister. While docile, she is very ambitious, but the instructors have a hard time communicating with her because she rarely speaks up.

"There they are…" Fox said to himself as he entered the hanger and laid eyes on the three sleek fighters a few yards away.

"Hey hey! What are you doing?" A voice of familiar squeaky style yet lower tone called out. Fox glanced left to see a Frog in a lab coat with a moustache and large yellow spectacles waddling towards him.

"Uhh… um…" Fox stumbled on his response as Slippy crashed through the door, panting.

"Hey dad! *huff* No worries *huff* He's here with me… *huff*." Fox looked back and forth between to two before realizing that the great Beltino Toad was standing right in front of him.

"Oh Slippy! You didn't tell me you were bringing a friend…" Bill caught up and stopped beside Fox. "Er… Friends along…"

"Yeah… sorry about that, but…" He motioned to Bill. "Bill here is the grandson of Johnny Grey of Hound Squadron…" Beltino's eyes widened.

"Oh? Interesting…"

" And Fox, I'm sure you've met before." Slippy finished as Beltino scrunched his eyes and adjusted his glasses.

"Oh!" He sighed and laughed. "Pardon me Fox! I haven't seen you in years!"

"Heh…" Fox awkwardly chuckled while scratching the back of his head.

"I wish I could stay and talk, but I have a lot of work to do… I'm assuming you came here to see the Arwings... go ahead, just don't touch anything of course!" with a quick adjustment of his glasses, he turned and disappeared into the back of the hangar behind piles of parts and machinery. The three just stared as he walked away, and then diverted their attention to the super fighters. The features of these incredible machines became clearer as they approached.

They were nothing like the Cornerian fighters, even though both were designed by Beltino. The main fuselage was like a large white spike, smoothly streamlined up to the cockpit which seemed slightly bigger than that of the standard fighter. On both sides of the apparatus was a winged SF badge and on both sides of the cockpit was the trade mark "Flying Vulpin" logo of the Starfox Team. The engine was a variant at least five times more powerful as the Cornerian fighter's and, according to Slippy, could take the fighter to full speed in less than a second. The wings were angled differently as well and sharper in design, none of them could figure out what the point of it was, but it seemed to do the job so they didn't question.

The most prominent feature of these machines was the two large blue blades between the wings and the cockpit that angled downward and curled around the wing like the tip of an arrow. Slippy indicated that these were the famous G-Diffusers.

"G-Diffusers?" Fox asked, earning a quizzical look from the amphibian.

"Wait, you don't know?"

"Well, I've seen these up close in the past, but only when I was small, and I never really asked how they worked."

"Well then! Allow me to explain." Slippy pointed to one of the blades. "These two miraculous advancements of technology create a "force bubble" I'll call it, around the cockpit. The bubble **COMPLETELY** negates G-force pull on the pilot."

"Whaaaaat?" Bill yelled out. "No G-force pull? You could do anything!"

"Yep, without G-forces tearing at the pilot, intense and once thought impossible maneuvers can be pulled off, giving anyone an edge in battle."

"Why don't all Cornerian fighters have it then?" Bill pressed.

"They are extremely complicated and very expensive to produce…I think it took my dad a year just to put together these three… of course now it would probably take less time because the beta stages are through, but the issue is also the money…"

"That and most pilots wouldn't know a thing about flying it if they sat down in the cockpit." A gruff voice came from behind them. They turned to see the grey hare of the Starfox team, Peppy Hare himself. Donning his custom, trench-coat version of the Starfox jacket. He approached them and smiled eye to eye with Fox.

"Peppy!" Fox greeted energetically.

"Hello youngsters… checking out the machine that does it all eh?" They turned back to the Arwings then back to Peppy nodding.

"Just taking a peek, are you guys done with General Pepper? Where's Dad?"

"He and Pigma are signing the payment papers as we speak, they'll be here shortly."

"What's the mission?" Fox continued, earning a casual shake of the head.

"Classified material my boy… But no need to worry, I'm sure you haven't forgotten who your Dad is…"

"Heh, of course not." Fox finished as a crackly voice shouted out from across the hanger.

"Hey Peppy! Time to lock n' load, enough storytelling to the kids!" Pigma walked right past all of them without acknowledging anyone and mounted the ladder to the Arwing furthest back. Peppy sighed.

"He needs to work on his manners…" He gave Fox a pat on the shoulder. "Looks like we're heading out. If all goes as planned we'll see you again in a week or so."

"I look forward to it." They shook hands and the hare made his way to the middle Arwing.

"Hey there Fox." Fox turned around to see his Father approaching.

"'Hey Dad!" Fox smiled and waved.

"It's too bad we couldn't stay longer, we've got an important mission, but the biggest paycheck in a long time. We'll be able to afford a week or so of rest if we get the full pay out. If that happens, we can get together a few times and catch up." This made Fox ecstatic.

"Really! Alright!"

"That's the spirit son." He ruffled Fox's head fur with his hand. "I'll see you later then." He stepped past them and climbed the ladder of the Arwing they were admiring. He stood up on the edge of the cockpit and pulled the pair of sunglasses. With one flick of the wrist, they opened and he slipped them over his eyes. He climbed into the seat and the cockpit windshield closed down over him. The three cadets stepped back as the ships began priming and the smooth, constant hiss of the engines filled the hangar. The hangar doors parted and James turned to the three cadets. He gave them a casual two-finger salute, and the engines fired. In an instant, the fighters zipped out of the hangar, cutting through the sky and disappearing from sight in a matter of seconds. When the amazement from the Arwing's famous "Sonic Blast-off" faded. Slippy turned to Fox.

"You're dad… is SO cool…"

"Yeah…" Fox smiled wider. "He is…"

...

Meanwhile, practically across the entire system… Krystal has been very busy. No more than a day after she obtained the Spirit's Staff, she began her training to become Cerinia's fabled guardian. With Zannin as the head overseer and the many temple monks helping out. In fact, she is partaking in a training course right now in a cleared era on the edge of Cerin.

Three logs propped up on rocks about three feet apart each were struck by spheres of blue fire, engulfing the wood in flames.

"Good shot Krystal! Keep going!" Zannin yelled to her. Krystal dashed towards the next obstacle.

It may have only been two years, but Krystal had changed a lot, most of which was easily noticeable because she was of age, keeping the tradition of wearing just a top and loincloth. She had gotten taller, her hair was a little longer and styled differently with bead patterns, but the biggest difference was the obvious results her training had gotten her. She was well toned, very athletic, not just for an eleven year old, for a girl as well. However it wasn't so much that she had lost the beginnings of a feminine figure.

"Oof!" She rolled on the ground after a long fall, getting up immediately and sprinted through a clearing of trees. As she ran monks hidden behind the tree's pulled on ropes to raise bails of leaves off the ground, hindering her path. Krystal hacked and slashed her way through them swiftly, but was stopped abruptly as a large stone block stood in her way. It was only a few feet high, so she could have easily jumped it, but a net was erected twelve feet above it to prevent her from doing so. She retracted the staff and hooked it to her waist. She cracked her wrists and neck and squatted down, putting her hands as far underneath the block as she could. It was very heavy, but Krystal hadn't trained so long for nothing."HRGH!" She grunted. Slowly, the block began to rise off the ground, eventually she had the stone up to her chest, and then above her head. "HAAA!" She bounced, leaning backwards slightly, letting the block fall behind her. "Phew! Alright!" She cheered to herself as she ran to the base of a cliff. It was about thirty feet high. Krystal grabbed her staff and let it extend to its full length. As she neared the base of the cliff, she jumped and drove the staff into the ground; using her arm strength, she vaulted herself right above the staff. The weapon shined brightly and was propelled from the ground sending both the staff and Krystal high into the air.

Zannin was surprised when he saw it. _That's a new one!_ He thought as he watched happily at the warrior in training. Seeing her near the end, he moved to the arena section of the course. Krystal managed twelve feet on the jump, and quickly scampered up the cliff side in seconds as opposed to the minutes it would take an average Cerinian.

When she reached the top, she was ready to battle. Every single course they put together for her had some sort of physical or mental battle at the end. However, when she saw whom she was going to fight, she was half-annoyed and half-eager.

"Konrad… the "master" Hunter…" She said in a hushed, uninterested tone. Across from her stood a large, muscular Cerinian Male with a large quarterstaff in his hand and a cocky smirk across his face. When he laid eyes on Krystal he laughed.

"THIS is our guardian? The elder's promised me a challenge, not a little girl with a stick." The large vulpine scoffed. Konrad was well known all throughout the planet. For one thing, he was probably the largest Cerinian, standing at seven foot two and weighing in around two hundred seventy pounds. He referred to himself as the "master" of all hunters, which was acceptable because of the mass loads of food he provided year after year from his hunts; it was even rumored that he had once wrestled and killed a giant boar with his bare hands. However, he was not humble of his prowess. His ego was as big as his muscles, and he assumed people should treat him with the utmost respect. On top of all that he was the biggest showoff. Krystal could recall seeing him return to Cerin with a large beast slung over his shoulder. He would always do the same thing, wait for the people to admire him, then drop the beast and start flexing his arms.

Which he was currently doing.

"Little girl?" Krystal growled to herself. "I don't know how the Elders decided to let someone with no respect for the customs and traditions into my training…"

_**I agree with you my child…**_The great elder's voice echoed in her head through telepathy. _**But the fact remains that he is the strongest of the Cerinians… if you can defeat him, it will prove how far you've come.**_Krystal nodded to herself in agreement. _**And on top of that, maybe he'll gain some humility. **_The last bit made her giggle. As she had gotten to know Zannin better, she found him to have a humorous side as well. Krystal twirled her staff once and stood ready to fight.

"This is gonna feel good…" She thought with a devilish smile on her face.

"Might as well get this over with…" Konrad sighed and began casually strolling towards her. Krystal purposely waited until he was only a few feet from her and made a break towards him. He reached a massive hand to grab her by the arm, but she skillfully twirled the staff to deflect his arm, with much more force than he expected to come from the young vixen. It effectively made his arm fly back and turn him sideways. Krystal stuck the staff into the ground, grabbed hold of it, and spun herself in a full circle, ending the rotation with a heavy kick with her heel right into Konrad's stomach. The hunter let out a loud grunt, dropped his staff, and toppled over onto his back. He flailed about as he quickly got himself upright, grabbed for his staff and stood up.

"What the…?" He exclaimed staring wide eyed at Krystal, bewildered at how a vixen, not even in her teens was able to knock him down. But the look faded and his smirk returned. "You've got a lot of fire for a little girl…"

"And you've got a lot of talk for having no brain." Krystal taunted back. This angered Konrad severely.

"Cheeky little…!" He gripped the staff with both hands and reared his arms around his right side. Krystal could easily read where he was going to attack. As he swung horizontally at her legs, she stuck the staff into the ground and a blast of blue light emitted from the bottom. It propelled her into the air, and gave her the perfect opportunity to strike. As Konrad realized he hit nothing, he received a massive blow to the top of his head, making him fall forward face first into the ground. Krystal landed with her back turned to him. She glanced back for a second, then rested the staff against her shoulder and wiped her hands together.

"That was satisfying…" She said to herself.

"That's enough then… very well done Krystal!" Zannin approached accompanied by two monks. "In all honesty I didn't think you'd be able to beat him… I never dreamed you would become this strong so quickly… you defeated the strongest of our kind with little effort." He stopped as Konrad pulled his muzzle out of the dirt and snarled.

"You!" He looked forward at Krystal and pointed angrily. "You little witch! It's that staff! You'd be writhing on the ground now if it weren't for that blasted thing!"

"Now Konrad…" Zannin began, but Krystal stepped in front of him.

"Okay then…" Krystal stuck the staff into the ground next to her and left it there. She took a few steps towards Konrad while cracking her neck and knuckles. "You think I'm only good because of the staff? Why don't we find out?"

"Krystal, don't…" Zannin was cut off by a primal roar from Konrad.

"I'll kill you!" He yelled while charging at her with arms outstretched. He was like a feral beast, bearing his teeth and growling as he advanced. Krystal ran at him and jumped right past his arms as he tried to grab her, and punched him right between the eyes. He howled in pain and tried to reach for her before she landed, but she vaulted off his arm and grabbed him around the neck, pulling him back first all the way down to the ground. From there she grabbed his arm and hoisted it over her shoulder.

"RAAH!" She shouted, and to the disbelief of Zannin and the monks watching, flung Konrad's massive body over her shoulder and slammed him to the ground. Konrad was down. He rolled over and groaned as Krystal jumped up onto his chest and mocked him by flexing her arms like he always did.

"Krystal!" Zannin's voice froze her in place. She quickly hopped off of Konrad's chest and faced the great elder with her hands intertwined behind her back. The stern glare she was being given was more than enough to let her know that she had gone a bit far. "None of that second confrontation was necessary… I am amazed at how powerful you are for one so young… but what I just witnessed was a blatant misuse of your gifts…" She looked down.

"F…Forgive me Great Elder… I got carried away…" She began shaking. She had never lost her composure like that before and she did not like the result. Zannin sighed and approached her, placing a gentle, wrinkled hand on her shoulder.

"That being said… I **am** pleased by the fruits of your training… your strength, speed, agility, and everything are far beyond anything of a natural Cerinian… especially at your age, you'd almost think the spirits themselves blessed you with these traits… I can barely imagine the extent of your abilities as you grow older." Even though she was being praised, she only let out a small,

"Mm-hm…" and kept her head down.

"Do not berate yourself too much." Zannin smiled. "Look at me Krystal." She looked up into the eyes that were full of years of wisdom. "We all have lessons to learn no matter how old or wise we become. Be humble about your talents; do not feel you have to hold a reputation like Konrad. Only use your abilities when you must… and remember to always trust in your judgment and in the staff, because when you are lost, the spirits of Cerinia will guide you." He handed her the staff, which upon being touched by him had retracted.

"I will Great Elder…" Her expression lightened as she grabbed the staff and hooked it to her waist garment.

"I know you will…" He smiled. "That concludes our training for today… Run on home to your parents."

"I'll do just that!" Krystal's upbeat air returned as she broke into a fast jog down the dirt path with the staff jingling against the buckle that held her cloth to her waist until she was out of sight. Zannin motioned for the monks to tend to Konrad, who had passed out a few seconds after rolling over. He glanced once more towards the direction the young vixen ran off and chuckled.

"Such an amazing child…"

"And here I am!" Krystal yelled out as she reached the outskirts Sierra, her home village, in no more than twenty minutes and barely showed any signs of fatigue. As she stepped through the main gate she heard a rope snap followed by two loud thumps and a familiar voice grumbling. She turned to corner to find Tenassis. He had been carrying four large bundles of logs on his back using rope to hold them to his back, but it was much heavier than the ropes could handle. "Need some help Tenassis?" She sauntered up to him.

"Oh! Hello there Krystal… no I'll be fine, I just need to get some more rope…"

"Nonsense…" Krystal stepped forward and hoisted one bundle over her left shoulder and the other over her right. "I was going to stop by anyway to see Niomi." Tenassis sighed as he watched the young vixen easily pick up the two heavy bundles.

"That's right, I forgot I was talking to Rheneas' little super girl…" He joked. She giggled and started towards Tenassis' household with him close behind her. They hadn't far to go, so they arrived fairly quickly. As she set down the bundles of logs, her ears perked up at the sound of a flute. She made her way into the house to see Jagger sitting on a floor cushion, with his eyes closed, playing the flute. Krystal smirked and tiptoed up to him while pushing a cushion beside his. She lay down on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows letting her chin rest in her hands with her head tilted slightly. She was about a foot from his face and was smiling mischievously as she made a telepathic connection.

_**Don't mess up…**_ Jagger heard in his head and no sooner did her hear it did a note go way sharp and he stopped dead. He opened his eyes and yelped in surprise at Krystal being right in front of him, nearly falling over.

"K…Krystal!" He yelled annoyingly, but Krystal was rolling back and forth on the ground laughing while clutching her stomach.

"Oh my god… you freaked out… you should have seen the look on your face! Hahaha!" She continued to laugh as Jagger sighed. "By the way is your sister around?" She suddenly calmed down and questioned.

"Niomi? No actually I think she went to your place, said something about wanting to wait for you there…" He explained.

"Oh really? That's too bad she missed a good laugh!" Krystal stood up.

"It wasn't **that **funny…" He muttered as Krystal made her way out the door towards her house. She nearly bumped into someone as she exited the house and trotted past six houses before reaching hers. She peeked in through the entrance tarp and caught glimpse of her Father walking with his back turned to her. A playful smirk crept onto her face as she snuck in and tiptoed up behind him.

"Father!" She squealed as she jumped onto his back.

"Whoooa!" Rheneas stumbled at the sudden added weight to his back, but saved himself by grabbing the support beam in the center of their house. "Alright you little sneak, get off, I'd like to keep my back healthy for at least a few more years…" Krystal giggled and released her grip, allowing him to turn around. "So? Any interesting stories from today?" Krystal walked past him and leaned against the beam.

"Well… today I only had a few hours of telepathy training. After the noon meal I was on the courses all afternoon." She smiled at him.

"I think I'll have to have a word with the elders about overworking my daughter…" Rheneas sighed. "Who'd they have you fight today? Was it a battle or mind testing?"

"A battle…" She smiled, knowing who she beat would shock him.

"With…?" He pressed, giving her a weird look as to why she paused.

"Konrad "The Master Hunter"" She made the quote sign with her fingers as she spoke. "I gave him a good beating.

"WHAT?" Just as Krystal thought, Rheneas' reaction was that of wide eyes and disbelief.

"Krystal?" Kiera emerged from the back room with Niomi behind her. Niomi could be called the normal vision of a Cerinian eleven-year-old girl. Wearing a different variation of the top and cloth, but looking very similar to Krystal minus the muscle tone. Her hair had grown out long and was almost past her waist with two long braids hooked in front of her ears that went down to her shoulders.

"Mother!" Krystal ran up to Kiera and embraced her tightly.

"Oof… not so tight honey…" She smiled and hugged her back. She glanced up and saw Rheneas staring straight ahead with his mouth still hanging open slightly. She raised an eyebrow at him, but turned her attention to Krystal. "Niomi's been waiting here for you… You two go have fun, I'll have the evening meal prepared soon though, so don't go far." Krystal smiled and squeezed her mother once more before letting go and turning to Niomi.

"Let's go to the meadow! I'll race you!"

"Krystal! Wait!" Niomi called as Krystal was already out the door. "Ooooh… not again…" She trotted after her. Kiera watched them until the tarp floated back over the door, then turned to her husband who still had the goofy look on his face. She walked up to him, placed her index on the bottom of his muzzle, and pushed his mouth closed.

"You okay darling? You look spooked." She giggled. Rheneas shook his head and blinked a few times.

"Did you hear what she said?" He paused until Kiera shook her head. "She fought and defeated Konrad!" Kiara opened her eyes wide, but only for a moment.

"Well she is the chosen guardian isn't she?"

"Doesn't it slightly scare you what they are turning her into? She's eleven years old, and a girl, but she's stronger than a fully grown Male hunter."

"You sound a little jealous." Kiera teased, knowing full well that Rheneas would never do something like that.

"I don't think jealous is the right word… I mean… I'm happy that she has a unique destiny, I couldn't see her doing anything normally assigned… but what won't the Elders tell us?" Kiera perked up. "Why would they need to create a warrior, but not tell us what for? Zannin said there was a crisis… but he didn't go any further than that."

"Didn't he say something foreign to the planet?" Kiera added.

"Yeah, but that didn't help." He looked down, continuing to ponder.

"You make a good point Rhen… but I think we should trust their judgment… the Elders have never wronged us in the past." She slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him softly. "And if Krystal really will be able to stop this unknown crisis then I'll have been even more proud to be her mother. It's true, I am a little frightened by how powerful she is… when she's all grown up, who knows what she'll be able to do… but if this is what the elders deem necessary, then we shouldn't worry." Rheneas listened, but still didn't move. Kiera smiled and reached her arms up behind his head, turning it to make him look into her eyes. "And if nothing else, Krystal is enjoying it is she not?"

"She is… it's written all over her face…" He finally spoke.

"And you know what…? She's doing exactly what you told her to do… she's following her heart." Kiera kissed him on the cheek as she finished.

"You're right." Rheneas sighed. "I'm just over thinking it." Kiera smiled contently and began moving away to take care of meal plans, but was caught by the tail. Rheneas pulled her back over to him, turned her around and hugged her again.

"Rhen, dear… I have to prepare the food…"

"Oh no you don't…" He chuckled. "You're not getting away that easy after that kiss." She gave him a seductive look.

"Okay… maybe I have a few minutes…" They curled their tails around each other and closed the distance between them.

"KRYSTAL!" Niomi finally reached the meadow, panting and wheezing from the sudden workout she was forced into.

"Yes?" Krystal was casually hanging upside down on a low tree branch a few feet away.

"Argh! You're too much!" Niomi plopped down on the ground to catch her breath. "You keep forgetting… that I'm not… a super powered guardian vixen… like you…" she managed to choke out between gasps for air. Krystal giggled and loosened her legs from the branch. She fell, stopping herself in a handstand and sprung back onto her feet. "I'm also not a showoff…" Niomi added after witnessing the acrobatics.

"Okay, I get it Niomi… have a little fun." She helped her friend off the ground. "Come on… we haven't spent time together in a long time…" The two walked into the meadow.

"The Meadow" was a small paradise a short walk's distance through a forest from the back entrance of Sierra. It was an opening in the forest covered in short grass with a lake in the center that was fed by a waterfall from a nearby river. All around were Pliare trees, a species of tree native to the planet. They were tall, thick, and so wide that it took two Cerinians at to fully embrace the trunk. The branches began about twelve feet from the base, starting widespread at the bottom and coning to the top reaching around thirty to forty feet. The leaves were of multiple colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple… some like to refer to it as the "Rainbow tree" for obvious reasons. The best part of the place though, was the large rock structure that jutted out from the ground with a steep incline. On all sides it created the elevation for the water to flow over the edge and create the crystalline-white foaming effect of the waterfall. They walked right up to the rocks and sat down, allowing the mist from the falls to gently spray over them. It was very refreshing.

"So Krystal… how is the guardian life going?" Niomi casually asked, facing the other vixen, who had her neck bent all the way back.

"Haaa…" Krystal sighed. "It's fun… I get to run around and train all day…"

"You never feel exhausted or tired?"

"Sometimes…" Krystal smirked. "But when I see what I could be doing it makes it worth every moment." She brought her head back upright and slipped off the rock.

"What's it like?" Niomi asked as she followed Krystal's motions.

"What's what like?" Krystal asked right back as she eyed a branch of a nearby Plaire tree. She squatted down and sprung from the ground all twelve feet into the air, getting just enough height to grab hold of the lowest branch with one hand. Using one arm, she pulled herself up and sat on the branch. The whole movement looked so casual.

"Doing stuff like **that**… being abnormally strong… and using magic from the staff… how does it feel?" Niomi only earned a shrug.

"I don't know… it all just feels natural to me…" She grabbed the staff from her waist and it extended in her hands.

"See? Like that… how do you do that?"

"It just responds to me…" Krystal shook her head. "I don't really know either… but Zannin said something about having a pure heart with a strong sense of justice and integrity."

"Does it work for anyone else?" Niomi was beginning to sound like a curious little kit.

"I don't know." Krystal shrugged again, retracting the staff and re-hooking it to her waist.

"You're a big help as always…" She walked to the base of the tree. "Sometimes I wish you act more like a normal girl… maybe some people wouldn't be afraid of you."

"Afraid of me?" Krystal's ears flipped up and down as she heard this.

"Well, considering all the things you can do, who wouldn't be? A lot of people in the village think you're some sort of demon…" Niomi explained as she sat down against the tree. Krystal leapt down and looked confusingly at Niomi with her hands on her hips and her head cocked to one side.

"Demon? Did they miss the whole… Guardian thing?"

"Cerinians will be Cerinians… Not everyone fully believes the word of Zannin…"

"Hmph." Krystal huffed. "Well, when I save the planet someday, maybe they'll respect the Elders more."

"That's another thing Krystal… what crisis is coming?"

"You are full of questions today…" Krystal commented.

"Well I think it's only natural that I be concerned about my best friend along with the fate of our race." Niomi added to justify her means. Krystal shook her head again.

"Well… he hasn't told me when or what will happen…" She pulled out the staff, extended it, and twirled it around her body gracefully. "But with the training I've done, I can take on anything thrown at me!" She struck a pose. Niomi sighed.

"Again, you could try being more like a girl…"

Zannin stood on the balcony of the third floor of Cerin temple. He gazed out into the beautiful sunset, but was not there to enjoy the view. One of the lesser elders sensed uncertainty from their Great elder and approached.

"Great Elder… does something ail you?" He asked. Zannin sighed.

"Yes…" He paused. "I fear… that we haven't long…"

"You mean…" The elder stopped short and glanced towards the setting sun.

"I do… Our fate will soon be upon us…" Zannin looked at the floor. "Cerinia… will be no more…"

-to be continued-

* * *

So there we go... i guess the biggest thing i wanted to do with this story was to give a reasonable and believable origin to the characters, as well as more developement and plot to the games. (64 and adventures at least, from there it's gonna be all original.) Starfox always seemed to be all action and barely any story, Adventures kinda toppled that a little bit, but Assault and command barely focused on story at all, just full of random "oh crap" moments and large battles.

I intend to really do these games justice, the characters are just too interesting let things slide like this.

Anyway, as always i extend my absolute thanks and gratitude to all those who read and/or review my work, you all mean a lot to me.

Please read and review!

Flashgunner over and out!


	3. The Fragile Path of Life

Hey there folks! Not much for me to say that's already been said! Just droppin in to leave this here. As usual this is just another portion of work that i did on this story in between my main stories. Once those are done i'm gonna buckle down on this.

Here is the third installment of Follow Your Heart.

story

"talking"

_thinking_

**Emphasis**

LOUD

(Me talking)

Enjoy!

* * *

Follow Your Heart

Written By: Flashgunner

Ch. 3: The Fragile Path of Life

"We're approaching Venom James…" The comm. speakers of the Arwing cued in beneath the boots of the dozing mercenary.

"Hmm?" He awoke and reached up to pull down his sunglasses as he peered out at the yellow planet in the distance. He removed his crossed legs from the dashboard and sat up straight.

"Hey! Are you awake in there?" The scraggly voice came again. James flipped on his comm link.

"Relax Porky I'm awake…" He cracked his back and yawned. "I should ask for a bigger check from Pepper… making us fly so far…" He flipped off the auto pilot follow-lock on Pigma's Arwing and took the controls.

"Yeah it took us three damn days to get here and you two were too busy catching up on sleep to switch leads!" Pigma complained into the comm.

"Alright alright fine, I'll lead the way back." James grunted while switching off the audio link to Pigma.

"We'll have to make a stop at Zoness or something on the way back, my rations and water reserves are running low from the trip. Looks like we still have plenty of fuel though." James' other partner chimed in.

"We'll do that Peppy, now let's hurry up and figure out what's going on here."

"Right." The hare complied. "I suggest we split up and perform a planet-wide scan, keeping a safe distance from the atmosphere of course, I'm not sure if the toxic clouds will affect the Arwings.

"Best not take any chances… let's do it." James shifted his glasses back over his eyes and switched his comm. link to Pigma back on. "You get all that Pigma?"

"If ya didn't switch me off I coulda told you that already!" He replied angrily.

"Argue with me later; let's get this over with so we can get paid." James knew exactly how to get Pigma to comply.

"Don't have to say it twice!" Pigma agreed as they flew closer to the planet.

"Okay, I've divided the surface area of the planet into three areas." Peppy paused as he sent data to James and Pigma. "You should see it on your monitor now." James watched as a spherical map of the planet popped up."

"Perfect Peppy. Okay, split up and take a section. The planet's abnormal radiation might mess with our comm. signals a bit, so keep an eye on your radar and assist each other should something odd appear." James watched as the orange dot on his radar pulled away without a word as Pigma steered his ship towards his portion.

"Will do." Peppy replied and pulled away, moving the red dot on the radar. With nothing else to discuss, James flew in close to the planet while flipping multiple switches on the front controls and on the panel above his head. The map on his monitor minimized to a corner and two other windows appeared with sensor readings. One for radiation levels and one for wave signals.

_If anything strange is happening then either the radiation levels will become abnormal or I'll pick up something else… not much else that could happen… unless of course this has something to do with that scientist Pepper banished here…_ James thought back to the trials he sat in on a few years ago. A Cornerian scientist by the name of Andross Oikonny. It had been discovered that over the course of three years he had kidnapped and used multiple Cornerian citizens as guinea pigs for his secret, freakish experiments. He was found guilty of all charges of homicide and murder, not to mention just being a sick twisted Ape with absurd intentions. He was sentenced to death by exile to Venom, where the toxic atmosphere would kill him slowly and painfully. James had never seen the General so angry before, not to mention would he ever expect General Pepper to call for such a horrid fate for anyone, not even Andross. But the facts stood that he killed over a hundred people in ways too nasty to describe, so it seemed fitting. James broke from his reminiscence and glanced at the map. He had only covered a tenth of his route, he flipped his wrist to read his watch, figuring he had been day dreaming for the past half hour. Even with the incredible engine power of the Arwings, Venom was still the largest planet in the system. He slumped back into his seat, leaving one hand on the controls. Nonchalantly, he pressed a few buttons on his dash board to widen the scope of his radar, sweeping the entire surface. Peppy and Pigma were about as far as he was.

"Pepper makes us fly across the system and there's nothing here…" His radar suddenly made a loud blip noise, catching his attention. "Huh?" He glanced at the screen and noticed Pigma's signal had disappeared. "Uh-oh…" He said to himself and tried to raise communications. "Pigma? You alright?" There was only static. To be sure he tried Peppy, but got the same response.

_He probably just hit a radiation spike or something…_ He lay back again only to spring up again a minute later when Peppy's signal suddenly changed course and seemed to move sporadically. _Okay now that's NOT normal! _He sat up straight and seized his controls; banking hard to the right towards Peppy's signal. It was a quick trip due to the small distance they had all covered, but when he was nearly there fifteen minutes later, he saw an explosion and Peppy's Arwing disappeared from his radar. _OH NO!_ James flew up to the spot where he lost the signal and quickly surveyed the area. His sensors beeped and he noticed a transmission wave notice on his scanner from below. He did a quick turn around and spotted a severely damaged Arwing. _Peppy!_ He thought and flew in close to see if the hare was alright. As he moved in he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of a figure moving in the cockpit. Suddenly he saw the figure move frantically. _What?_ He inched his Arwing closer and tipped down his glasses. Peppy was looking towards James, flailing his arms and pointing. _What is he doing?_

James couldn't deduce what Peppy was trying to say to him. Being distracted, he failed to notice another Arwing sneak up behind him… With weapons fully charged.

…

"Wait what did you just say?" Fox grabbed Bill by the shoulders, stopping them both in the busy hangar.

"Heh… you heard me man, I got word from the high-ups that they want me to test fly the prototype command fighter!" Bill beamed with pride.

"As in the Green Hawk? That new Cornerian fighter with the G-diffuser system everyone's been talking about?" Fox continued as Bill jokingly forced Fox's hands off his shoulders.

"You got it! Something to do with my recent training record… said they wanted a recruit to fly it "New fighter needs a new set of hands to test it" according to Beltino." He explained.

"Man you are so lucky! Slippy won't stop talking about that fighter; it was making me giddy just thinking about it!"

"Cadet Lombardi! Where are you going?" The two of them stopped to see a hangar officer approach Fox's "favorite" blue feathered friend as he was walking away from his training fighter.

"What?" He rudely addressed the officer who ranked above him.

"You abandoned your squadron during the test run again! Why do you insist on being a rogue?" Falco just leaned his weight to his right foot and sighed.

"Look buddy, I took out all the targets myself, while dodging all of the simulated laser fire. It's not my fault my squad was too slow to keep up."

"But… you…" The officer stuttered. He checked his data-pad and noticed the results were just that, Falco was the only one with a target destroyed score, and had no points deducted for damage. "Um…"

"That's what I thought." Falco turned and continued on his way. He stopped before he passed Fox and Bill, giving them both a glare before continuing on without a word.

"Sheesh…" Fox said to himself.

"He's an amazing pilot but he never follows orders… if he wasn't such an ace I'm pretty sure they'd have given him the boot by now." Contemplated Bill.

"Yeah but if he keeps this up he'll never earn a spot in the force." Fox suddenly paused, putting a finger to hi chin as if trying to remembered something. "Oh!"

"Hm?" Bill turned to him.

"Slippy wanted to play Poker with us and the others today. He said to get him from his Dad's hangar before heading to the dorms." Bill looked at his watch as Fox finished. Seeing it was quarter past four and that it was Friday.

"Oh wow I thought it was Thursday…"

"Losing sleep over your new pair of wings?" Fox bantered while patting Bill rather hard on the back. Bill let out a grunt and nudged Fox back with his elbow.

"Thought you were having wet dreams about the machine." He fired right back.

The two laughed as they made their way to the hangar exit and turned down a smaller corridor that led to the courtyard. But right as they turned down the hallway, a hand shot out and pressed Fox against the wall by the chest.

"Oh shit…" Fox said as he laid eyes on his ferocious feline attacker.

"Hey there Foxy…" Miyu purred seductively while batting her eyelashes, her tail swishing back and forth playfully. Fox gritted his teeth and made a hand motion to the chuckling Bill, pointing towards the exit. Bill nodded and kept walking.

"Oh hey Miyu…" He said while trying to inconspicuously move away, but she had a firm hold on him.

""Oh hey" is right… cause it's Friday night, how about we spend some… Quality time together?" She winked as she said the last part, earning an eyebrow raise from the trapped vulpine.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't… I'm hanging out with…"

"Me tonight? Of course you are!" She moved in real close, pressing her body to him, making an effort to press her chest into his. Despite how he disliked her forward actions, it didn't erase the fact that he was a guy, and the way she was on him was quite sexy.

_Crap, crap, don't fall in Fox, she just wants to get in your pants… I need to get out of here…_ He could force his way out, but in their current position he couldn't do it without possibly knocking her down, which he didn't want to do in the risk of appearing a jerk to those passing by and giving the two looks. He needed a miracle.

"Cause you wouldn't want it any other way right?" She was moving in closer, but at that moment Fox got his miracle. Someone hurriedly turned the corner and bumped right into the two of them, causing all of them to fall over and Miyu to lose her grip on Fox. He immediately slipped away, got to his feet, and sprinted down the hall as Miyu regained herself.

"Wait! Foxxyyyyyy!" She called after taking three steps, then immediately gave up knowing she could never catch him. By now Miyu could see Fay who was getting off the ground, brushing herself off. "Hey!" Miyu towered over Fay and poked her in the shoulder.

"Eep!" Fay squeaked while shying away from the lynx that was a whole head taller than her.

"Way to ruin it for me! How bout' you watch where your going klutz!" Annoyed and livid, Miyu turned her back and stormed down the hall. Fay just stood shivering in place, relieved that Miyu didn't decide to beat her up (Which was what she always assumed was about to happened when yelled at). She exhaled before remembering why she was rushing.

"Oh!" She looked down the hallway. _Aw… I lost him… I could've sworn I saw him walk down this hallway…_

…

"You look like you had fun." Bill joked as Fox jogged up to him, panting and wheezing.

"There's nothing funny… about this lynx problem… I have…" Fox tried to catch his breath while defending himself.

"Why not just go with it man? You know how many of the cadets would kill to be in your shoes? She's pretty fine." Bill suggested as they continued through the courtyard and towards the main military base.

"They can have her for all I care… why does she have to be a tomboy to everyone else but a straight up slut to me?" He complained while throwing his hands up in the air.

"Not your type huh?" Bill shrugged

"This isn't high school Bill, I'm more worried about becoming a pilot… why don't you take her off my back?" Fox jabbed him lightly on the shoulder.

"That rowdy chick? Uh-uh no way. I like calm girls." Bill's slightly quieted tone made Fox smirk. Sure he wasn't worried about relationship's, but if Bill insisted about talking about it, he'd bite.

"You like the shy type am I right?" Fox casually questioned. Bill stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow.

"Now how did you read me like that?" He chuckled. Fox held up his index finger.

"One, I know you're the gentleman type, I've seen how you act with women, you're a regular Casanova…" He extended his middle finger to join the other. "And two, the only reason a girl is ever quiet is because she's shy." As he finished Bill slow clapped.

"Bravo McCloud, you read me like a book. But Casanova? I didn't know holding a door or two qualified me." They laughed and entered the main base through the glass doors and vestibule until they emerged in the visitor lounge, only a few wide hallways from Beltino's hangar. "So what about you F…" They both stopped in their tracks as did the other soldiers and recruits around them. All at once they stood attention as General Pepper walked through the lounge with a few commanding officers in tow. The General gave a exasperated sighed and made a half-hearted salute/wave as he passed without even looking at anyone. Once he was around the corner they all relaxed.

"Man I would hate to have his job…" Fox said out loud. Bill cringed slightly as he glanced towards where the General left, thinking he could possibly still be in earshot.

"Why don't you say it loud enough for the whole base to hear?"

"Oh come off it, there's no way he heard." Fox rolled his eyes. "But really… no matter where you walk, people stiffly addressing or saluting you? I could never do that. The day I'm promoted from pilot to desk job is the day I tell them to shove it."

"Fly till the day you die?" Bill quoted him.

"You know it!" Fox eagerly answered while pounding his chest with his fist. Bill smiled and nodded as they turned the corner down the final stretch the hangar. The door at the end of the hall open and they could see Slippy inside, tinkering with a Cornerian fighter. "There he is." Fox pointed out. As they approached, Bill remembered that he was cut off before.

"Oh yeah, I was gonna ask you since we were on the topic… What is your type?"

"Type of what?" Fox dumbly responded.

"Very funny Fox. Now cmon, I told you so be a bro and return the favor." Bill finished as he put a hand in the air to acknowledge Slippy, who was waving them down.

"My type…?" Fox went dead silent. As he had made it completely clear to himself from the get-go, romance had to take a back seat to reality. The most imprtant thing on his mind was following in his father's footsteps and become the best pilot he could, but he had to come up with an answer or else Bill would never leave him alone about it.

"You thinking or stalling till we get to the end of the hall?" Bill joked.

"Nah I'm thinking… but I'm trying to decide…" Fox pondered the question. He really hadn't put much thought towards women or what kinds he liked, so he didn't have much to work with in coming up with this response. From the little experience he had wth them, he knew there were two kinds of girls, loud and too straight forward or quiet and shy. "I guess…" He began as they stepped into the hangar. "Since my experiences with girls hasn't been all that great… I guess I'd like a girl that's unique…" It wasn't very long thought out, but it was he conclusion he had come to.

"Bold words Fox, sounds like you're looking for one in a million." Bill scratched his chin, pretending to sound smart and serious.

"Call it whatever you want, I don't think about it much."

"There's always time Fox." Bill nudged him. "You've already got one girl crawling over you, I'm sure the one you want will be magnetized to you too."

"Alright enough, let's change the subject…" The vulpine cut Bill off. They were now near Slippy's workspace and something caught his eye. "New topic, let's talk about how weird Slippy looks while he's doing that funny dance." He pointed at the frog who was stuttering and looking away from them while jumping up and down.

"What the hell is he doing?" Bill raised an eyebrow at the mechanic's weird movements. Then Slippy pointed out the massive hangar doors towards the sky. Fox and Bill both glanced in the direction. Something was streaking across the sky and leaving a trail of smoke. Whatever it was, it was heading directly towards the open hangar.

"What the… what is that?" Fox took a few steps forward but suddenly took them right back as the streaking comet seemed to be falling right towards them.

"What is all the commotion?" The familiar voice of Beltino came from behind.

"We've got something incoming!" Bill yelled at him as two turned and pushed him away from the objects presumed trajectory.

"Whoa one second!" Beltino stopped them once they were far enough away and grabbed his glasses off his face, holding them at arm's length from his eyes. "Is that…" He could make out a silver cockpit and fuselage, with only one wing and a single blue contraption attached. "Is… Is that one of my Arwings?" He exclaimed. Fox immediately removed his hands from Beltino and faced the sky.

"What…! F...Father?"

"FOX MOVE IT!" Bill grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the way as the blazing arrow entered the hangar, a loud crash following as it smashed into the hangar floor. The impact caused the other wing to rip from the fuselage and throw sparks in all directions. Beltino fell over as the G-diffuser flew right over his head while Fox and Bill helplessly shielded themselves from any other debris that might fly their way. Slippy dove into his pile of scrap metal and was lucky the spare Cornerian fighter was in the way. The Arwing bounced violently after tumbling a bit and crashed into the fighter, changing its course away from Amphibians makeshift shelter. After a few more painful bounces, crashes, and clangs, what was left of the Arwing skidded into the back wall that separated the landing section from Beltino's personal workshop. Fox and Bill glanced between their arms that were covering their faces to see if it was safe. A few more people rushed into the hangar and gasped at the sight. The beaten craft lay still in the back of the room, and everyone was calm about approaching it, until a small fire sprang from it. Beltino immediately leapt into action.

"Dear me!" He turned to the people who had just walked in. "Somebody contact the paramedics! NOW!" A bunch of them ran out. "Fox! Bill! Go help out whoever's in there!" Bill immediately took off towards the ship, but Fox was frozen in place for a moment. What if it was his father in the Arwing? It couldn't be there was no way anything like this would ever happen to his dad. Beltino shoved him in the back, derailing his train of worry. "FOX HURRY!" Fox shook his head and sprinted after Bill. The two of them rushed up to the ship as another fire sprang from the engine.

"Shit!" Bill stopped in his tracks and glanced at the engine. Fox ran right passed him. "Fox! Watch out! The engine could blow at any second!"

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR? HELP ME!" Fox barked back at the greyhound. Bill glanced once more at the engine and cursed again before rushing to the cockpit beside Fox. They both frantically climbed up onto the heavily bent and dented fuselage and looked into the cockpit, but it was filled with smoke so they couldn't see who was inside. Fox noticed that the bent armor plating on the fighter created a bit of space to fit his fingers beneath the windshield. "Here Bill!" He pointed and stuck his fingers under. "On three!" Bill complied and did the same. "One…Two…Three!" The two yanked at the cockpit shield, once they broke the smashed shield locks, the windshield flew open. It smacked Bill below the chin, knocking him off balance. He tumbled back, rolling right off the fighter while yelling obscenities and clutching his chin. A huge cloud of smoke spewed out right in Fox's face, invading his lungs before he had a chance to take a breath. Between violent coughing streaks, he reached down into the cockpit and felt around. When he found the pilot, be positioned himself directly over the cockpit with one leg on both sides and ran his hands over the body until he found the restraints. With smoke in his lungs and water in his eyes, he yanked the restraints free from their holders and grabbed the pilot from the seat. As he stood up, his foot slipped on the sleek exterior of the Arwing and he fell with the pilot in his arms, landing right on top of Bill. Neither could see now because the smoke had formed a dusky cloud around them. Fox rolled off of Bill and the two grabbed hold of the pilot, getting two steps away from the Arwing before the engine exploded. They were sent flying from the smoke and tumbled to the ground a good fifteen yards from where they started. By now the paramedics had arrived, they and Beltino were charging towards the three of them with a stretcher and other medical equipment. Fox groaned and lifted his head from the floor. He propped himself up on his hands and knees and shook his head, coughing a few times from all the smoke that had irritated his lungs.

"Fox!" Bill was up as well and shaking him by the shoulder. Fox quickly regained his focus and turned to the limp pilot they had saved. It was Peppy Hare.

"Peppy!" Fox immediately looked him over. He was not a pretty sight. His uniform was ripped and torn, his upper body was stiff and stuck in an awkward angle, and to top it off he was literally caked in blood, most of which was flowing from his head. "Oh god! PEPPY!" He yelled to him, only to be shoved aside by the paramedics.

"Get the stretcher down here now! We need to get him to the emergency center pronto!" The head medic ordered the others and they set the stretcher down and loaded the heavily wounded rabbit onto the stretcher as quickly and carefully as they could.

"Quick! Check his vitals! If his heart's stopped we'll have to resuscitate him on the way!" Fox hadn't moved from where he landed after being pushed. He just sat, propped up by his hands behind him, and watched as the medics race around.

"We've got a faint pulse, but barely any signs of breathing! His lungs might be stressed! Get him straightened out!" Where was his father? Where was the great and invincible James McCloud?

"I can't move his body! There must be an internal breakage!" How could Starfox be defeated. Why is Peppy the only one back?

"We'll have to check it when we get there let's move!" The medics finally got the stretcher on wheels and took off down the hall with him.

_What happened?_

_What's going on?_

_ Where… Where is my father?_

…

"I'm sorry cadet, but you can't go in here…"

"Let me through! I need to see Peppy!"

_Hm…?_ The veteran pilot slowly opened his eyes, woken by the sudden nearby commotion. A bright light suddenly bombarded his face, making him squint. _Yikes that's bright… Either I'm in heaven or I made it back to Corneria…_ He tried to turn his head left, but a sharp pain shot through his body. _YEOW!_ _Okay let's try the other way…_ He turned his head to the right and to his relief there was no pain. He recognized the room as part of the Cornerian army medical facility. They had given him a private room that was almost identical to the rooms in the Cornerian city hospital: entirely bleached white with beeping medical equipment placed all around him. He was hooked up to several I.V.s and another machine that was monitoring his heart rate. The faint noise of rain could be heard against a window he couldn't see to his left with a quiet pitter-patter. As he looked around the half of the room that wasn't painful to observe, he noticed two Cornerian soldiers holding back a young fox who was trying to push himself into the room. _Fox…?_

"Cadet… don't make us get rough…" The buck warned the fox as he and his coyote partner tried to pull him out of the doorway.

"Like I give a flying shit! Let me through!" Fox yelled while thrashing about.

"Oh that does it…" The two were prepared to physically pick him up and throw him, but Peppy stepped in.

"Let him through boys…" The two stopped and turned to see Peppy awake and looking in their direction.

"But we have orders to let nobody through…" They tried to reason.

"Don't give me your orders hoo-hah. Let the boy in." Peppy repeated and the two let Fox pass. The Vulpine ran up to the hare and looked him over. He was badly cut up and bruised with bandages around his torso. Bandages were strewn over his head and down around his chin with two holes to make it comfortable for his ears.

"Peppy! Are you alright?" Fox immediately pressed.

"Well, aside from being a bit dizzy, having a broken rib, and missing a lot of the blood I used to have I think I'll be fine. With the doctors and medicine of this day and age I'll be back on my feet in a few weeks." He chuckled.

"It's not funny Peppy… I spent the last two weeks trying to find where they were keeping you… I assumed they'd take you to the hospital, not keep you here." Fox's grip on the railing of Peppy's bed tightened and he looked down. The hare easily took note of this, and as he dreaded, Fox was about to ask him the question. "Peppy… Where is my father?" Peppy didn't respond immediately, which quickly sparked a silent worry in Fox.

"Hrgh…" Peppy grunted in discomfort and looked away from Fox.

"Peppy…" Fox said his name again in almost a pleading manner.

"Fox, listen to me… Your father…" He paused and sighed again. "Your father is dead." Fox didn't move, his eyes were wide open, staring down at the floor while gripping the bed-rail. The rain outside picked up, causing the droplets against the window to hit faster and louder.

"Wh…what…" Was the only word that escaped from his lips as his mind replayed what he had just heard over and over again, hoping to god he had heard it wrong. "How… it's not possible…" His body began shaking.

"Fox… we…" Peppy tried to explain but was abruptly cut off.

"NO! You're lying! There's no way my Dad could die!" Fox frantically yelled. He let go of the bed and backed away until he slammed into the room's view window. From outside in the hall, General Pepper was passing by and stopped to look upon hearing the loud thump of Fox hitting it. He continued on his way into the room.

"Fox McCloud, what are you doing in here? I gave you no authorization…"

"I let him in General." Peppy quickly cleared for Fox. Pepper smiled slightly to see the hare had finally come to. "And I also just shared some bad news with him…" The general glanced back at Fox, who was breathing heavily with his eyes wide, staring at the ground a few feet in front of him. Pepper glanced back at Peppy with a serious demeanor.

"It must be… James, am I correct?" The question was met with a nod. "It's as I feared… when you showed up alone and battered… I prayed that James and Pigma were okay… but…"

"Pigma… feh don't worry about him I bet he's as happy as can be right now… that good for nothing backstabbing ham…" Peppy suddenly interjected angrily. This both caught general Pepper's attention and slightly broke Fox from his dazed state.

"What are you talking about?" Pepper quickly asked.

"We were carrying out our mission just as you instructed. Everything was going smoothly and as planned until Pigma disappeared from our radar… minutes later I was ambushed by something. I couldn't see what it was, but it was powerful enough to cut through my shields and rip off one of my wings before I could coordinate a counter attack. So I was left to drift over Venom. Seconds later James flew in, probably noticing my radar signal disappear. When he finally located my wrecked fighter, something pulled up behind him. Communications were down due to interference in Venom's radiation clouds, so I tried my best to signal to him that he was in danger…" He paused there to glance at Fox, who was still against the window with his head down. "As it drew closer I was able to make out what was behind him… It was an Arwing…" Fox's head snapped up with his mouth hanging open.

"…with weapons charged… I could only watch as James' Arwing was peppered with laser fire. His engine capsized and exploded, sending what was left of his Arwing hurling towards the Venom atmosphere. My fuselage was thrown in the opposite direction away from the planet. When I was clear from the radiation clouds, my com system picked up a transmission… It was Pigma reporting that he had successfully killed the other two members of the Starfox team…"

"Unbelievable… Peppy, do you know who was behind the order?" Pepper asked.

"Yes, I caught the name… but you're not going to like it…" He paused as the general nodded. "Andross Oikonny." The name meant nothing to Fox, but the General perked up instantly.

"WHAT? That cannot be!" The flustered boxer terrier exclaimed. "He was sentenced to death! How could he have survived on the surface of Venom?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are… but in the transmission I picked up a few more disturbing things… words about building up an military force… bio-weapon engineering… even a planet killing device… not to mention how much money Pigma was offered to bump us off… the bastard was always money first friends later…"

"What?" They both turned to Fox. "Money? MONEY!" Peppy and Pepper glanced at each other then back to Fox. "HE KILLED MY FATHER FOR MONEY?"

"Now Fox…" Pepper began. "Stay calm… we will handle this…"

"To hell with staying calm!" General Pepper was surprised Fox actually yelled at him. "We need to go get that betraying sack of shit!"

"Fox! CALM DOWN!" Peppy tried.

"What, you don't care? Pigma killed your lifelong friend and wing-man and YOU DON'T CARE? You're no better than he is!" At that moment General Pepper stepped forward and struck Fox across the face, knocking him to the ground. Fox quickly turned his body so he was backed up against the wall with the general looming over him with a disgusted look on his face.

"**That is enough**!" He harshly commanded while snarling slightly towards the wide eyed vulpine. "Fox, I understand that this is hard for you, but I will **NOT** tolerate this kind of behavior!" Fox's bottom lip was quivering. He looked like he was about to burst into tears. "James would be ashamed if he saw you like this." That did it. There was a flash of lightning in the window and Fox cried out as if in agony, shakily got to his feet, and sprinted out of the room as the thunder followed, almost knocking down one of the guards as he passed. Peppy and Pepper made no effort to stop him.

"He needs some time to sort things out… I know what it feels like to lose a loved one… it's happened to me more than once." Peppy began to break the silence. General pepper sighed and turned back to Peppy.

"Perhaps I was too hard on him… My moral judgments got the better of my sympathy…"

"No General, there's a time in every man's life where he must learn to accept losses… but I'm sure you know that well."

"Indeed…" Pepper agreed. He took a few paces towards the opposite window and stared into the thunder storm that had been steadily brewing the entire day. "I just hope he figures himself out… I would hate it if he were to go and do something rash…"

…

Fox stumbled down the hallway, bumping into many people on the way. He was looking at the floor, trying to conceal the tears running down his face. He was running away, trying to escape from the pain that was inevitably killing him from the inside. His path was uncertain, his tears blurring his vision, and all he ever followed was becoming a haze of doubt. Finally he reached the doors leading out into the cadet campus courtyard, forcing his way through them and into the deluge of the storm. Upon feeling the water on his fur, he slowed his pace and walked straight off the path and into the grass field in the middle of the courtyard. He fell to his knees and looked up into the sky, not caring if the rain got in his eyes. Ever since the untimely passing of his mother when he was young, his father was the only thing he had left, not to mention he was his role model, his driving goal, and his inspiration. There was no way the great James McCloud could really be gone could he? Fox was sure he had to be dreaming. But with a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder Fox knew it was reality it was all just as real as each drop of rain that splashed on his face.

His father was dead.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He cried out while slamming his fists to the ground. The most important person and last person he could call family was gone. Now he was truly alone. He would never be the same.

…

A week passed. For Fox it was the slowest week in his life. He barely left his room, didn't eat much, and stood up all of his training sessions. If not for General Pepper relaying the news to the training officers he would have been easily discharged. To make matters worse, Fox didn't make the effort to see any of his friends. Not even if they came to him, no matter how many times Bill, or Slippy knocked on his door he didn't answer. Even when Miyu tried to break his door down he didn't budge. After another week Fox finally answered the door for Bill.

"Hey Fox… how have you been?" Fox leaned against the door, with a groggy expression on his face and his head fur all scruffy and disgruntled.

"Terrible…" Fox mumbled and started to close the door, but Bill caught it.

"I don't think so buddy, you've been gone too long, Slippy and I have been worried sick about you. Not to mention Miyu has been having the worst case of letting the whole facility know about her daily PMS since you've disappeared." Fox didn't answer; he just kept his face turned away. Bill sighed. "Look… Fox… Beltino told us what happened."

"He did huh…" A response. Bill wasn't expecting to be acknowledged.

"Yeah…"

"Then just leave me alone…" Fox tried to pull the door shut, but Bill kept his hold on it.

"Fox, that's why we can't leave you alone, you're killing yourself. You gotta let us help you out, that's what friends are for." Fox didn't respond again. "Fine, if not me how about Peppy? Fox you gotta talk to someone, sulking in here isn't gonna do you any good!"

"And talking to someone won't bring my dad back." He finally managed to wretch the door free from Bill and it slammed in the greyhound's face. Bill sighed and stood in front of the door for another few minutes before giving up and leaving. However, from inside the room, Fox was actually thinking over what Bill had said. He stood completely still in the center of his room, with the light peaking through the shades that had been pulled over his windows for the past week.

_Maybe… maybe Bill is right… I should go talk to Peppy…_ So Fox, still with knots in his mind, washed his face, fixed his fur, threw on his uniform, and left his room.

He walked slowly towards the medical center, drawing looks and unanswered "hey's" as he passed by those who were surprised to see him again. When he made it to Peppy's room he stopped outside hearing a conversation from inside.

"What? General, I must protest, I distinctly heard over the transmission the name Andross and talk of war against Corneria. This could be our chance to prevent a major conflict **and **catch Pigma at the same time!"

"I'm well aware of that Peppy, and I do want to take action… but the rest of the military and the government are not so eager to do so." Fox picked out this voice as General Pepper.

"They can't be serious! Do they have any idea how much could be on the line if they're wrong?" The hare was obviously dumbfounded and furious.

"I said the very same words to them my old friend… But General Sarkley of the Cornerian ground forces was adamantly against the idea, saying, and I quote, "That we shouldn't trust the word of a dizzy mercenary who bumped his head"." Pepper's recounting of his past meeting made Peppy growl.

"What is wrong with that man? He's always been such a prick." Peppy was extremely angry, Fox had never seen this side of him before.

"He's never liked the way I've hired mercenaries to assist military needs… calls them scum and thugs… I'm sorry Peppy, but as long as Sarkley presents an opposition, the military is split and the government won't approve mobilization…"

"What…?" Fox said to himself as he heard all he needed to hear. They weren't even going to make the effort to go after Pigma and his benefactor, after the ones who killed his father. Then as if out of nowhere, the knot in his mind came undone. He suddenly had an idea that came to him faster than a sandstorm appears on Titania. He felt as though he had to take matters into his own hands. He had to go find Pigma and make him pay. The only problem was, he had nothing by means of a craft in which to do so, but that also sprang another idea. He had heard that Slippy was assisting his father with the repairs/rebuilding of Peppy's Arwing, so he backtracked out of the medical building and made tracks towards Beltino's hangar with a new flame burning in his eyes.

…

…

Fox took two steps into the hangar, but suddenly stopped and stepped back out, concealing himself in a perpendicular hallway. Thinking before he acted was his number one priority ever since the scuffle with Falco on his first training run, and he almost forgot it for a moment.

_I need to think this through…_ He thought to himself as he glanced in and saw the father and son duo looking over a large blueprint with a nearly finished Arwing near them. _I almost charged headlong in there… now that I think about it, Beltino would probably be completely against this idea…_

"Alright Slippy, go ahead and replace the circuits in the wing shifter, I'll go grab us some lunch." Beltino suddenly said as he set down his tools. Fox glanced at his watch and saw it read noon.

_Wow, talk about unintentional timing…_ Fox made sure he stayed out of sight as the famous frog passed him down the other hallway, then made his way into the hangar. He put more thought into his plan as he approached the busy amphibian. _I should probably also look up some info on this Andross guy… I've heard Peppy mention him twice, once in conjunction with hiring Pigma to kill my father… But I can do that later, this is the more important part…_ Slippy hadn't turned around once during the time Fox was approaching, so he called to him. "What's up Slip?"

"YAAA!" Slippy jumped, dropping his tools and hitting his head on the wing above him. Fox stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"Still as high strung as ever I see…" Fox commented while chuckling. Slippy turned to him and his eyes went wide.

"FOOOOX!" He ran up and hugged him. Fox just gave him a weird look.

"Uh… Slip?"

"Where were you? I thought you were dead or something!" He squeaked while shaking Fox.

"Heh… of course not buddy I just had to figure some things out." He removed Slippy from his waist and held him at arm's length. "Sorry if I worried you…"

"Well… I heard about your dad…" He said quietly while looking down and tapping his two index fingers together in front of his chest. Fox just sighed.

"Well I guess you know why I was gone then…"

"I… well… um… er… sorry… I don't know what to say…" Slippy stuttered. Fox smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"You don't need to say anything… No one could ever replace my father… he taught me countless lessons that I will follow till the day I die… including one that I'm following right now… but I'm going to need your help." He explained.

"Huh? What do you need me for?" Slippy asked, confused. Fox turned away from him and walked towards the Arwing. It was all back in one piece, but most of the streamlined armor plating was removed, revealing the complex wiring and circuitry that was required to make the Arwing work its magic. After looking over the ship for a moment Fox turned back to Slippy.

"Tell me Slip… how badly damaged was this Arwing?" Fox suddenly asked.

"Pretty bad… it was in pieces, not to mention when it was already missing a few before it crash-landed…"

"Would you say you pretty much had to start from scratch?" Fox interjected.

"Well… you could say that… there was so much of it missing that we had to rebuild most of it… Dad even brought out his blueprints…" Slippy continued, but Fox cut him off again.

"So you've pretty much built an Arwing."

"You you could say that… but where are you going with… oh boy…" Slippy began putting two and two together. "Fox… you aren't gonna ask what I think you're going to ask… are you?"

"You seem like a pretty smart guy…" Fox smirked.

"Fox there no way I could…"

"Don't short-sell yourself Slippy, remember when I completely totaled my training fighter on my first run? As I recall you had it as good as new in less than a day."

"No, it's that I don't think I can do it… it's just… my dad would never approve… my mechanic trainee budget could never cover all the equipment and parts I would need, not to mention the instructors would notice that my own projects are showing zero progress… and to top it off, I'm not sure I could assemble a G-Diffuser… even my dad has a hard time with those…" As he finished Fox put his arm across the Frog's shoulders and faced the Arwing with him.

"If you want to keep it from your Dad… tell him you need more space to work on some projects, I'm sure he can get you a maintenance hangar, if he asks about it say you're working on some equipment design proposals. In terms of money do the same thing, you might be allowed a larger budget if you claim it's for future military use; I'll pool all the money I can get together and transfer it to you as well. As for the complexity…" He reached a hand towards the Arwing. "Think of it as a challenge… if you can find shortcuts in the design process, find easier building methods, or hell, even prove that you can do it. You could be praised for simplifying a once almost impossible design." Fox was totally making up the last part in hopes of raising Slippy's confidence, and luckily for him it worked.

"Oh… alright… I'll see what I can do." Fox was sure he was successful, but then Slippy asked, "Wait, hold on a second, what are you going to do with it?"

_Oops…_ Fox thought to himself. He hadn't even factored in Slippy wondering what his plan was. "Um… would it be fine if I kept that secret? It's a personal reason." Slippy gave him a look of frustration, which Fox found agreeable, seeing as how Slippy would probably not comply if he had no reason to actually build it. "Well, sorry, I can't tell you, but I assure you it's for a good cause… and it partly has to do with my father…" He added the last part both as a true reason and in hopes that Slippy would sympathize. He hated to use his dead father as part of an excuse, but he was doing what his heart told him was right. Slippy's expression returned to normal.

"Fine… I'll do it." Slippy finally agreed.

"Really?" Fox was surprised that all the impromptu convincing worked.

"Actually I've always wanted to try building one… but I've just never had the resources or time… but with your help I'll be able to. Keep in mind though… this might take me a month or so… Cornerian fighters are easy… Arwings… well, there's a reason only three have ever been built…" He turned to Fox. "But it's a challenge I'm willing to take… and I feel I owe you for being such a good friend. No sweat Fox… I'll build you an Arwing."

….

"Concentrate… keep your mind clear…" A voice ordered softly. The room was dark with no torches and no windows. In the center of the room Krystal sat cross-legged with her fingers intertwined in her lap. A faint, blue glow was radiating from her body as there was from her staff which was fully extended and laid flat in front of her.

"Hrngh." She suddenly grimaced and sighed uncomfortably.

"Steady Krystal… Don't let us through." The voice said again. Krystal forced her expression back to normal and continued to bar her thoughts from the incoming distractions. This was one of her many mental training sessions. In this one particularly, she was trying to meditate and focus her telepathy to create a mental wall while the monks tried to break through and disrupt her concentration. She was doing fine for the most part, struggling only once in a while, but she always managed to straighten it out. Until…

"My turn…" A familiar voice came to Krystal's ears as the telepathic pressure from the monks disappeared. Krystal could sense something coming her way, but it was singular and not all around her. Out of nowhere a much larger amount of telepathic force was pushed upon her mind to the point where it almost completely broke her focus.

"Ah!" She quietly yelped and quickly reacted, concentrating on the single incoming push just in time. Confident she had it under control, she relaxed and focused on re-stabilizing her mind.

"Careful Krystal…" The force suddenly rebounded off the point she fortified and came from a different reaction.

"Hm!" She reacted quickly, moving the point of protection to block it once more, but it rebounded again instantly. She found herself shifting the barrier around and around sporadically. It was quite a strain on her, she began to pant and sweat as she was forced to twist and pull at her telepathic abilities like never before, the glow around her body becoming harsher. Inevitably, she eventually failed to deflect a point of incoming pressure. "AAAHH!" She yelled as her eyes snapped open and the glow disappeared. She leaned back, propping herself up on her hands, trying to catch her breath. She hadn't failed a mental challenge in a long time, but she had never experienced such high amounts of telepathic pressure before.

"Impressive." Krystal finally realized who the familiar voice belonged to. She was too deep in concentration a moment ago to figure it out. The monks raised the large curtains that draped over the windows to let the light of Solar illuminate the previously pitch black room, and there stood Zannin with a smile on his aged face.

"I knew something was different…" Krystal giggled as she realized what little chance she actually had of succeeding.

"They told me you were nearly perfect in your mental training… so I decided to throw a challenge at you. You did quite well; honestly I wasn't expecting you to recover from my first attempt." He explained as he approached her. She fell on her back and sighed.

"Well it's not like I had much of a chance anyway, you can mentally contact every person in a ten mile radius at once if you wanted." She joked, exaggerating his heavily refined and mastered telepathic prowess.

"Then let this be yet another lesson… and probably one of your most important." Hearing this, Krystal popped up to listen. Zannin's lessons always required and were aways worth her full attention. "Remember that being mentally strong is the key to not just you as our warrior, but also to you as a Cerinian, more importantly as a living creature and in how you live your life." He turned sideways to her and glanced through the large window at the far off horizon. "Life is full of unexpected turns… you'll never know when situations may be forced upon you that require a clear mind to deal with…" He turned back to her. "One may have strength… one may be brave… but simply being strong…" He picked up his staff and poked one of her defined arms with the top end. "Won't always cut it; you may never run into someone who can disrupt your concentration like I can, but there are times in life when you may feel under more pressure than I could ever generate. You must believe in yourself and have the sense to approach life intelligently, and then the strength and bravery will become relevant. And of course, most of all, as the chosen Cerinian with no clear future… you must always trust yourself and follow what feels right."

_Follow my heart…_ Krystal echoed the words of her father in her head. "I will be sure to do so… thank you for your wisdom." She stood and bowed her head. Zannin reach towards her and placed a wrinkled hand on her shoulder.

"I'm confident that you will." He gave her a nod and a reassuring smile. "That's all for today…" He added, surprising Krystal.

"What? But it's barely mid day…" She looked out the window quizzically, she usually stayed until sunset.

"Not today…" Zannin shook his head. "My gift in return for putting you through extra effort today. Run on home, you deserve a good rest."

"Thank you very much." Krystal thanked him politely, grabbed her staff from off the ground and made her way down the stairs with a smile on her face and her tail swishing about happily. All the monks turned to Zannin, who sighed as she disappeared from their sight.

"Great Elder… is our task complete?" One monk asked as he approached Zannin. The wise elder nodded.

"Yes… I am both happy to know it… yet crushed at the same time…" He walked over to the window and gazed down upon the beautiful city of Cerin from the window high above the ground. He caught a glimpse of Krystal sprinting out of the temple entrance, hopping around happily as she went. "Her training is complete… soon we shall be no more… and what happens from there is up to her…"

Krystal sprinted all the way out of the city and into the open fields of Cerinia. She danced and skipped about, not used to being let go from her training so early, she had a lot of energy that would have otherwise been spent.

_Ahh… it's such a beautiful day…_ She thought to herself as she pranced along. It was true, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining, and the breeze was soft and gentle. The leaves of the trees rustled delightfully and Krystal's hair flowed gracefully behind her as she moved along. _I've never had so much free time before! _ She stopped in front of a large Plair tree, hidden from the sunlight under the shade of the branches. Those said branches however, called to Krystal, using her abnormal abilities she leapt up and grabbed the lowest branch, far from the ground. Using both arms, she pulled herself onto it and made her way through the rainbow of leaves and thick branches until she poked out of the top, gazing out at the field. She sighed as she leaned back, holding onto the branch to keep from falling, and staring up into the blue sky. _This is so refreshing…_

But then something caught her eye. Something that flew over her far up in the sky. It was an odd shape and didn't look anything like a cloud; in fact it was the opposite color. She leveled herself out and turned her head at a more comfortable angle.

_What in the world…?_ She stared at the unfamiliar sight. Multiple black shapes wit rough, squared edges littered the sky. They seemed to draw closer and closer. Smaller objects suddenly spewed from them and seemed to dive towards the planet. These shapes were silver, and were approaching the ground at incredible speed. Frightened, Krystal lowered herself into the Plair tree to hide as loud, erratic noises and large drafts of wind began blasting past her. Krystal peeked through the leaves to see what seemed to be strange large creatures with two triangular silver wings with spots of orange and light blue swoop down and zip past her one by one. She looked up towards the sky to now see the black shapes spanning the sky, unleashing these silver beasts in all directions down to the planet. _What's going on!_ This didn't seem right at all, and Krystal couldn't think of anything else to do besides stay hidden and clutch the tree branch for safety.

Eventually the cacophony of foreign instances died down, and Krystal finally built up the courage to peek out of the tree again. The large black objects were still in the sky, but the silver beasts were gone. She took this opportunity to jump down and take a few steps out into the field.

_I don't like this…_ She thought to herself. _This definitely isn't right…_ Then something clicked in her head. _Could this be…? No… I didn't think it would be so soon…_ She glanced down at her staff dangling from her waist cloth and then back up to the sky. _Could this be the crisis? _If it was she wasn't prepared for it, for one she expected it to take place later in her training, and two she expected there to be more warning. She quickly shook the thoughts from her head. _I'm over-thinking this… if this is the crisis I must alert the elders…_ She got three steps towards Cerin before stopping and glancing over her shoulder. _But wait… those silver…"things" went that way and that's…_ She gasped and quickly turned to sprint. _Towards Sierra!_ Fearing for her family and friends, she made haste towards her home.

On the way she began to feel a dizzy, he mind ached and seemed to hinder her movement. She slowed to a walk and eventually stopped, rubbing her forehead.

"Argh… what is this…?" Suddenly she heard screams. She looked up, but was immediately forced back into her hands as the pain grew worse. She wasn't near any towns or cities, how could she be hearing this. Then the screams became pained and sounded like a civilization in agony. "No… it can't be…" She put the facts together. "She was hearing the screams of Cerninians in her head. Screams of terror, of pain, and of death. She forced one of her eyes open to see a glow coming from her staff. Was the staff channeling these thoughts to her?

"Ah….AHH!" She fell to her knees shaking while clutching her head. Then she realized what the staff was doing. It was alerting her of those in need, by transferring thoughts of pain and suffering to her. Normally it wouldn't seem so overwhelming, but it was coming from all directions, as if all over the planet Cerinians were being…

Killed.

"NO!" She forced herself to her feet and grabbed her staff from her waist, extending it to full length. _I will NOT let this happen!_ Realizing what she had to do, she once again began a full sprint toward Sierra.

All the facts had become clear. The strange things in the sky, the silver beasts, and her staff sending thoughts of pain… this was the crisis. She may have still been young… but this is what she had trained for, with the thoughts and cries of agony fresh in her head, she was determined to put it to an end, to save her planet and her people.

Following her recent instruction to be wary instead of headstrong, she slowed down as she approached Sierra, mainly because she witnessed some of the silver beasts circling it, but the farms and crop fields were all deserted as well. Doing her best to avoid possibly being seen by the overhead creatures, Krystal jumped between haystacks that were placed all around the fields. Upon jumping in one near the entrance to the town there was a loud and violent rush of wind and one of the beasts touched down to the ground. Krystal held completely still, hoping it wouldn't find her edible, but to her surprise, there was a loud hiss and the creature seemed to open. Krystal peered out to see an oddly dressed figure of similar posture to her own people depart from the beast. Before Krystal could get a good look at it, another beast flew in and touched down, only to have a similar outcome. Only the figure that emerged was much skinnier and hunched over. Now as Krystal looked at them, she was able to distinguish their features. The first was tall and stocky with brown fur, a rounded nose, and small ears on the side of its head as opposed to the top. It didn't look anything like a Cerinian. The other had an odd green, almost rubbery look to it, much skinnier than the first, with a somewhat pyramid shaped head and large sinister eyes that almost bulged out of its head. They were both wearing strange clothing that to Krystal looked like fastened splinters of tree bark, but were of odd color and texture, and in the center of their chest pieces was a large symbol "A". Krystal had no idea what it meant, but was cut off from thinking as the two began conversing. The language was strange, nothing she had ever heard before, but with a sudden glow from her staff,

"…invader fighters are great… we can swoop in under anyone's nose." The large one said. Krystal glanced at her staff, realizing that she suddenly understood the strange language.

_What can't this staff do?_ She thought as the skinny one began talking with a very scratchy tone.

"Not like a backwater planet like this is worth invading… Emperor Andross just wants us search the planet for possible bio-weapon capabilities…" They began walking away.

"Ah yeah… then I heard we were going to clear it for his warp gate… said he was…. Test… new…. Pl…kill…" Krystal couldn't make out the last bit as they entered the village. Krystal could understand them, but couldn't put together what they were talking about. Back-water? Invader? Bio-weapon? There were no words like that in the Cerinian language. She began to move, but then remembered the silver creatures in front of her. Yet upon closer inspection, she realized they hadn't moved. So she slowly stepped out and looked at one of them. Taking the end of her staff, she tapped one of them and was surprised by the *clang* noise it made. She stepped back and took a stance, expecting it to react, but it stayed still. Keeping one eye on what she wasn't quite sure was a living creature or not, she quietly slipped into the village and made her way between the buildings. As she walked she heard other voices in the new language, she figured there were more of the strangely clothed creatures in the village, but had no clue how many. Then she turned a corner,

"Ahh!" She yelped as she laid eyes on something she would forever be burned into her mind. Two Cerinians on the ground, one male, one female, motionless bodies, barely in one piece, burned and cut everywhere lying in a pool of blood. Near their hands were sharp tools used for cooking and crafting, suggesting they had put up resistance. She quickly threw her hands over her mouth and stumbled back, losing her footing and landing on her rear. "High spirits of Cerinia…" She said to herself as her feet scooted back and forth on the ground as if trying to push her further away. She turned away from the sight and pushed herself to her feet, turning the corner to get away from the horrible sight, only to come into view of the town square. The creatures that emerged from the silver contraptions were everywhere, stepping over bodies of more dead Cerinians. They held black contraptions with both hands. Her eyes fell on a Cerinian who was still moving on the ground, one of the creatures stepped on it, pointed its tool at it, and a blast of red light shot out. Krystal gasped and saw the Cerinian fall limp. _They… They're murdering them!_ Krystal gripped her staff, but quickly crouched down as a large group suddenly approached. She watched as they past and saw a group of about twenty Cerinian's huddled together, being forced along by the intruders. Krystal's eyes grew wide as she easily spotted Tenassis in the group she looked closer and laid eyes on Niomi, Jagger, and her Mother and Father.

"I found all these hiding in some hidden shelters… heh, they obviously don't know about heat sensors…" By now Krystal noticed that all these people were one of two species, the large stocky ones or the odd looking skinny ones.

"Alright then…" A skinny one began. "Pick a few of them that we can take back for Lord Andross to use as lab rats… kill the rest." Upon hearing that, Krystal was a second away from springing into action, but…

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHH!" Tenassis suddenly grabbed the two talking by the heads and smashed them together. Dropping one he threw the other into the two forcing them to move from behind.

"Ah! Look out! The big one's out of control!" A yell came from further off. The Cerinian's scattered and Krystal made her move. She dashed towards the crowd and quickly found Kiera, Rheneas, Niomi, and Jagger, pulling them all aside one by one behind a trade stall.

"Krystal!" Kiera yelled upon seeing her daughter.

"Are you all okay!" She asked as she hid them while sounds of the magic weapons and cries of pain echoed through the village.

"Krystal you need to get out of here!" Jagger argued.

"No way! I'm the Guardian of Cerinia! I will protect you!" She replied, steadfast.

"Watch out!" Rheneas yelled, stepping in front of Krystal. Krystal turned to see her father get struck in the shoulder by a bolt or red light. "Argh!" He fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder that was now smoldering with smoke rising from it. Krystal jumped up, and held her staff out in front as another shot flew at them. It struck her staff only to be deflected and fly in a different direction.

_I guess I can deflect their magic…_ She knocked another blast aside and fired a bullet of blue fire at the source; the creature was knocked back through the wall of a building. Krystal quickly turned to her father, who the rest were tending to. "Father!" She knelt down, but he put a hand to her shoulder.

"I'm fine! Go help Tenassis!" He exclaimed, making her suddenly remember Tenassis' brave move. She sprang from the stall and made her way towards the sounds of agony that were not Cerinian. When she finally turned the corner where she had last seen Tenassis, she saw him on both knees with his back turned, blood running down his body and wounds all over.

"Kill him!" She heard.

_NOO!_ No matter how much training she had gone through or how fast she was, there was no chance for her to even come close. She watched as ten of the intruders fired their magic at him. Tenassis fell back first to the ground, motionless.

Krystal felt a new kind of emotion. One that she had never felt before. Mixing in with her fear was anger. Complete and undeniable rage.

"There's another one!" One of the creatures yelled.

But Krystal suddenly felt her morals falling down. She knew it wasn't right, but the pull was so intense.

"She's holding a weapon! Screw Andross' guinea pigs! Just kill them all!"

Krystal calmed herself, remembering the lessons she had learned. Letting her emotions get the better of her would be her demise. She stayed calm. And stuck her staff into the ground.

"Open fire!" The weapons flashed as the red lights shot at Krystal, they didn't let up, all firing until they were satisfied. But when the smoke cleared Krystal was still there, knelt down and shielded by a dome of blue light. She sprinted forward, firing three shots of fire, knocking out the first three on the right, while delivering a gut crushing blow to the one closest to her. A creature to her left tried to club her but she spun off her first hit and smacked the other in the back, making him fall on top of the first one. She stuck her staff into the ground and vaulted off of the staff driving the heel of her foot in between the eyes of an incoming foe, grabbing the one next to it around the neck and thrusting its head into the dirt. She kicked her staff, dislodging it from the ground, making it smack another one charging at her in the face, topping it over as the staff bounced back to her. She grabbed it and swung it around to block an incoming bolt of light, but there was more coming. She did her best, but she could not block them all.

"Argh…" She grunted as two blasts singed the fur on her right elbow and left knee. She stumbled and tried to defend against a skinny creature with his weapon pointed towards her, but she missed and the blast of light connected with her left hip, knocking her to the ground. She groaned in pain, but quickly tried to regain herself. The creature had made his way towards her and had his weapon pointed at her face. She watched as his hand squeezed the handle, and quickly held her staff out in front. As the red light discharged from the weapon it struck her staff and reflected, pegging the skinny creature right through the head. She slowly rose to her feet, inhaling sharply as the pain in her hip sharpened. She glanced at it to see blood trickling down her leg from a nasty looking wound. She hobbled over to a nearby stall and tore a piece of cloth from it's awning, wrapping it around her leg the best she could to contain the blood. She had never felt so much pain in her life. Sure she had had some rough times with the tests and training, but this was her first real battle, and the pain was almost unbearable. Yet she refused to let herself waver. She knew what was on the line and what she was chosen to do. She glared towards the town to see more enemies and was prepared to run into the fray, half working leg and all.

However, before she could, she saw some of the silver beasts fly overhead and a voice call out.

"It's about damn time! Everyone pull out! Gorgon is in place!" Krystal watched as the creatures all retreated.

_Running?_ Krystal relaxed her body and watched as the silver contraptions seemed to fill up the sky, she saw them fly in from far off as well, all moving back towards the black shapes in the sky which too moved further and further away until they disappeared. Krystal stared blankly. _Did I… Do it?_ She wasn't sure what to think. For a crisis, it sure seemed short, but as short as it was, she was pained by the fact that many had died, not to mention the pain that had been delt to her.

"Krystal!" Krystal heard Niomi as she ran up and hugged her tighter than ever before. Tears were streaming from her eyes.

_Oh no… she must have seen him…_ Jagger walked up to her as well, with his head down and facial fur wet from mourning his father. Krystal hugged Niomi back. "I'm Sorry Niomi I couldn't save him…" Krystal's mother and Father approached, Rheneas still clutching his shoulder painfully.

Krystal looked at them, happy they were still alive, but looked around at the rest of the town. Bodies were strewn all around; death was in every direction she looked. She hated it, hated the sight, and hated the feeling of uselessness… She was the Guardian chosen by the staff, but she was only able to save a few, for all she knew other villages and even Cerin were probably attacked. A tear rolled down her cheek and she sniffled once. She was supposed to be a warrior, warriors don't cry, but she couldn't hold it back. She hobbled through the pain in her leg to her mother and father and hugged them tightly. The family embraced, feeling lucky just to be alive and together.

"It's okay Krystal… we're here…" He mother comforted her.

"I couldn't protect them…" She mumbled into her mother's chest as she continued to cry. She felt a hand land atop her head.

"Krystal, we're alive because of you… anyone who just survived is alive because of you… you did protect us… the best you could." She hiccuped and looked up at her father. Despite being in an enormous amount of pain, he was still smiling at her. "My little girl has grown up." Krystal dug her head back into her mother's bosom as the two continued to hold her.

"What…? What is that thing?" The family was broken apart as Jagger's words hit their ears. They all saw him looking towards the sky, so they looked as well. There **was** something in the sky. It wasn't as big as the black shapes from before, this one was a grayish circle with a smaller blue circle in the center, three long tentacle like appendages protruded from it and whisked around.

"That… doesn't look good…" Niomi backed away, rubbing the remnants of tears from her eyes. The circle suddenly jostled and three large flaps opened up, revealing a pinkish red skin like border around the smaller blue circle. Three red balls of light extended from the center and glowed brighter and brighter until the center circle started changing colors, first to yellow, then to red. "Brother!" Niomi ran up and attached herself to her brother and Krystal's parents held her tighter.

The red lights disappeared and the center began to glow pink, shining brighter and brighter.

_I have a bad feeling…_ Krystal thought to herself.

Just then a beam of light fired from the center, changing colors as it flowed from the center. The Cerinian's watched as the beam hit the ground far off in the distance. As it did the ground shook and a large explosion sprang up in the distance. When the explosion faded, the shaking stopped.

"What was that terrible thing?" Rheneas spoke up. But as he did the planet began rumbling again. This time it started light and slowly became more violent. They all frantically looked around, wondering what was going on. The sky changed from blue to red, the clouds began moving at high speeds and the sound of muffled explosions could be heard.

"What's happening to the planet?" Kiera cried out while tightening her hold even more on her daughter. Suddenly the ground began to crack and split open. Terrified screams and frantic yelling erupted throughout the remainder of the town. Portions of the ground began to swell and columns of molten magma burst from them.

"Ahhhh!" Krystal eyes shot open at the sound of her best friend screaming, she only caught one more glimpse of her oldest friend as the ground gave way below her.

"NIOMI!" She yelled extending her hand out only to be pulled back in by her parents.

"NOOO!" Jagger yelled as he saw his sister fall, only to fall back onto a swelling welt on the ground.

"JAGGER LOOK OUT!" Rheneas yelled, but it was too late, Jagger was engulfed by a blast of lava erupting from the planet's core. Rhenease, pulled his wife and daughter away to avoid the smoldering stream and they all backed up to the spiritual pole of their village guardian in the center of the village.

"What's happening… I don't want to die… something… somebody… anything help us!" Krystal pleaded while clutching her staff.

_**Trust in the staff…**_ A voice suddenly echoed in her head.

"What…?" She looked down to see the staff glowing brightly. He parents noticed it as well and they all stared at the fabled weapon. A bright light suddenly surrounded Krystal.

"What's happening?" Kiera asked while looking over her daughter. Suddenly Krystal felt herself being lifted off the ground.

"I… I'm floating!" She yelped as she slowly began to levitate, and pull away from her parents. By now Kiera and Rheneas could see what was happening; they quickly stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Krystal… I think the staff is trying to save you!" Rheneas yelled.

"Wait! What about you?" She yelled to her mother and father as she moved higher. They both smiled at her.

"It looks like it can only take you…" The words shot through Krystal's heart.

"**NO!**" She yelled while grabbing at them frantically. They both reached up and gave her the biggest hug they could give.

"Krystal… you will survive… I'm sorry things turned out this way for you…" Her mother had tears in her eyes now.

"You've made me proud… now survive… and never forget to follow your heart…" Her father let go as did her mother.

"**NO! NO! DON'T LEAVE ME!"** She was screaming now as she finally levitated out of their reach.

"We love you Krystal!" They yelled to her in unison as they embraced one another. Krystal thrashed about, she didn't care if she lived, if it was to be alone and without all she ever knew and loved, but her hands wouldn't come loose from the staff, and she grew further and further away from the surface. She could see the devastation spreading all over the planet, the ground was crumbling and giving way, magma was causing the planet to burst at the seams. She reached out one more time.

**"MOTHER! FATHER!" **The light around her intensified, shining as brightly as a shooting star and propelled her skyward at an incredible speed.

From the very top of the great temple of Cerin, Zannin had been shielded from the attacks, but now watched as the world he had long lived on tore itself apart. He saw a bright blue light shoot into the sky in the distance and knew exactly what it was.

"Krystal… you are Cerinia's only chance for a future… we have sent you off as a dying tree succeeds in its final moments to scatter a single seed… May the remaining spirit of Cerinia guide you as you grow and become a guardian of the Lylat System…" He smiled weakly and turned away from the window, walking into the darkness of his chamber as the tower began to collapse.

Krystal could only watch as she broke through what remained of the planet's atmosphere. She moved further and further away, tears falling and burning up as they fell into the energy propelling her. Her arm remained extended as if still hoping she could reach for her mother and father. Then it happened.

The planet began to collapse within itself, and her eyes opened wide as it exploded.

Bits and chunks of the planet flew by her as she remained as stiff as a statue. She didn't take her eyes off the spot her home used to be as the staff guided her towards the closest planet, Richia. She paid no attention as she ripped through the planet's atmosphere and flew to the ground, slowing down as she neared the surface and was eventually gently set down in a jungle like area. Tall trees and grasses were all around with many shrubs and bushes placed about. But everything was blue. The leaves, the blades of grass, the entire jungle. The light from Solar barely poked through the canopy, dimly lighting the area around Krystal.

"M...Mother…." Her hand fell to her side and she fell onto her rear. "F…F…Father…" Her eyes hung wide open, her mind full of so much anguish and despair that she couldn't even cry, the tears flowed from her eyes without sniffling, hiccups, or wailing. She had to be dreaming. She just watched as everything she even loved died right in front of her. In an instant she was all alone. She was the only Cerinian left. An overwhelming feeling of being alone had invaded her mind and had broken her heart into pieces. She almost felt like she would fade away.

"Rayner! SHerkiado noi kai so noa!" She heard a voice but didn't look to it. The staff suddenly glowed for a moment and she could understand them. "Did the planet just explode!" My god… I hope there were no inhabitants…" There was a rustling in the bushes.

"Hey! Guile! Over here!" A brown creature with a long neck and round face popped its head out of the bush.

"What? Rayner where are you?" Another voice came.

"You are the one Weasel I know that can't hear someone right next to you!" The first one reached into the push and pulled a grey head out of it.

"Oh! Huh? What is that…?" They stepped out of the bush and approached Krystal they were wearing cloth tunics, the brown one green and the grey one red, and both had longbows on their backs. "Excuse me?" Krystal didn't answer, she just kept staring into the sky. One of the weasels followed her eyes towards the sky.

"Oh jeez, Guile do you think she was from that planet?" The brown one pondered.

"How would that work? Unless she can jump from one planet to the other." Then he eyed the staff in Krystal's hand. It still had a faint glow around it. "Okay… that looks rather different…" Guile pointed at the staff and Rayner took a look as well.

"Looks almost… magical…" He looked at Krystal and snapped his fingers. "Hey, you with us?" Krystal suddenly came to her senses and looked at them, yelping and backing away. She grimaced painfully, almost completely forgetting about her hip. "Whoa now we're not going to hurt you… looks like wherever you came from there was a scuffle…" He guessed while eying the bloody cloth around her leg. He held up his hands. "Heh… oh wait…You probably can't understand me… can you?"

"Y…yes…" Krystal choked out, surprising them both. "My st…staff can teach me languages." She sullenly added.

"Definitely magic." Guile said from behind.

"This may be a bit of an outrageous question… but…" He stopped. "And I apologize ahead of time if I'm right… but are from that planet that was just destroyed?" The question shot a pain through Krystal and her eyes began to water and a soft whimper escaped from her lips."

"Way to go there Rayner…" Rayner picked up a small rock and flicked it at his friend. "Ow!"

"So I take it that's a yes…" He asked. Krystal sniffled and nodded once. "Oh dear…" He turned sideways and scratched the back of his head. "So young too…" He mumbled to himself. Then he turned back to her and reached out a hand. "I know I can't relate at all to what you are going through… but please come with us to our village… we can take care of you…" Krystal, who was hugging her staff, looked at the hand for a moment before reaching hers forward and taking it. "There's nothing to worry about… come along now." The Weasel gave her a smile and began leading her into the jungle. As they began walking, Krystal took one last look at the sky as one more tear fell down her cheek.

It was really all gone.

She was alone.

-To Be Continued-

* * *

So there we have it. Everyone has to face changes in their life. There are times when those changes are sudden and we are caught unprepared, but we go on. We are only given one life, and no matter what gets in the way, we must always be sure to make the most of the time we are given. This is something Fox has realized, but will Krystal be the same?

So there ya go, another portion of this story. As usual do not expect any updates on this for a long time, it's a side project (Just like my pokemon story) and it will be held back for the most part until i finish my others (Which are both past their halfway point.)

As i always say. I appreciate every little comment or little bit of feedback i receive. Heck, i'm grateful just when people read my work. It is such an honor to know that someone has taken time to look over something you've worked hard on. It's a feeling that never gets old, and one i've experienced time and time again through the kindness of those who read and review fanfiction on this sight. I thank you all deeply.

Please read and review!

Flashgunner over and out!


	4. Following the Footsteps

aye aye aye... these chapters always end up very long, in all honesty i'm not trying to do that, its just the ideas i want to get down in each chapter are taking up much more than ideas in my other stories. But hey, i love it anyway cause I LOVE starfox so much (where's starfox wii? D= )

Anyway, here is the fourth installment of Follow Your Heart.

story

"talking"

_Thinking_

**_Telepathy_**

**Emphsis**

LOUD

(me talking)

Enjoy!

* * *

Follow Your Heart

Written By: Flashgunner

Ch. 4: Following the Footsteps

*DEET* *DEET* *DEET* *click*

"Urgh…" Fox rolled over and checked his clock. It read 8:00am. "Why the hell did I set my alarm for Sunday morning…?" He groaned. It was Sunday, the day everyone slept in, for there were no exercises or training that day; a day of rest that every cadet looked forward to. Fox hated his bed with a passion, it was springy and uncomfortable. He had a hard enough time falling asleep on it every night, so if he woke up prematurely, falling asleep again was impossible. With no other option, he rolled over and forced himself up in the bed with a sharp, loud yawn and a crack of the neck to both sides. He rose from the bed, scratching his furry head behind his ears as he patted the wall in search of the light switch. When he finally found it, he squinted to adjust as his eyes went to his wristband communicator, the red light was flashing, which meant a message.

_It's been about a month and a half since Dad died…_ He thought as he paced towards his wrist gear. _It's still hard to believe he's gone… I know I didn't see him much… but he's the only family I had left…_ He sniffled once, but shook his head. _No… I promised myself I wouldn't mourn it any longer… he wouldn't have… he didn't let Mom's death break him… so I won't let his break me… I need to stay strong…_ He scooped up his wrist band and pressed a few buttons until a text message appeared on the screen. _From Slippy?_ Fox read over the message carefully.

"Hey Fox, if you get the chance today, come down to the hangar. Thanks."

_Huh…_ He thought as he read the short message again. _I wonder if it's about the Arwing… I already transferred a lot of funds to him; I hope he didn't run into any difficulties…_ Fox pondered over his plans for the Arwing if Slippy were successful. _If what I hear is right, Arwings are very powerful in outnumbered situations… I should be able to do this no sweat…_ He suddenly realized that his plan wasn't very concrete. He froze halfway reaching into his closet as this dawned upon him. _You know… I should probably think this over a little more… up to this point all I had on my mind was killing Pigma and whoever else was responsible… _He sighed and pulled a dark green t-shirt over his head before reaching for his jeans. _Well, let's see what Slippy has going on… maybe this will all fall apart anyway…_ He finished dressing and left to grab a quick breakfast from the mess hall before heading to the hangar.

He doubted himself. Upon realizing how naïve his original plan was, he wasn't sure where he was going to go with it. Sure he wanted revenge, but he hadn't considered what he might be diving into, he did recall Peppy mentioning the possible mobilization against Corneria, if that were the case, he'd be charging headlong into an army… which wasn't favorable odds, even for the famous Arwings of Starfox.

He continued to contemplate possible scenarios as he made his way to the personal hangar Slippy had rented out, finishing off a banana he swiped from the mess hall. He tossed its peel into the trash beside the hangar entrance, but almost coughed it up when Slippy burst through the door and ran right into Fox's stomach.

"Oh there you are!" Slippy eagerly exclaimed as Fox bent over, coughing and hacking, trying not to choke his breakfast. "Ah, oh sorry about that…" He chuckled as Fox pounded his chest a few times.

"Okay, okay, no worries… now what's going on? You aren't one to send short messages, so this must be important..." Fox joked, because almost every message he or Bill received from Slippy was paragraphs long, when it could have been one sentence.

"Ah! Yes! This way!" Slippy eagerly bounced back into the hangar with Fox in tow, wondering what had the amphibian so giddy. He guided Fox towards something that was concealed by a large tarp. "Here we are…" He went towards the tarp and grabbed hold of it tightly, smiling all the while. Something clicked in Fox's head.

_Wait… don't tell me he already…_ Slippy whisked away the tarp, and there, right before Fox's very eyes, was an honest-to-god Arwing. His jaw dropped as his eyes ran across the sleek silver and blue star fighter, it was identical to the one his father flew, which almost made him tear up. "Slippy… this is amazing! How did you build this so quickly?" He stared incredulously at the content frog.

"Well, I've got a knack for remembering how things are put together after I do it once or twice… so I already knew how everything went after helping my Dad fix Peppy's Arwing… most of it was done in the first three weeks… the G-diffuser alone took me from then till now, the things are complex.

"So… it's all done? Is it flyable?" Fox asked with the enthusiasm of a bouncy little kit with a new toy. Slippy gave him a nod and a thumbs-up.

"She's all fueled and ready for a test flight…" His expression turned serious. "But…"

"But…?" Fox wondered out loud. Slippy walked over to a nearby workbench and grabbed something. As he turned and got closer, Fox noticed he was carrying a large book of some sorts. Slippy made his way back to Fox and reached the book towards him. Fox grabbed it and immediately had to shift his leverage due to its weight. The book was very thick, looking to be at least three hundred pages.

"Um…" Fox stared dumbly at the book and then back to Slippy. "What's this?"

"The instruction manual on how to fly it." The end of Slippy's sentence was followed by the loud thump of the book hitting the floor.

"You're kidding me right?" Fox stared at him blankly.

"Wish I was." Slippy adjusted his hat and bent down to pick up the book. "These aren't anything like normal fighters…"

"Pfft." Fox scoffed as he turned towards the Arwing. "I'm sure it's not that hard Slip, let me take a look here…" He was up the ladder before Slippy could protest and plopped down in the seat, he cracked his knuckles and exhaled in confidence, but as he reached towards the controls he stopped dead, staring straight forward. Suddenly, something he heard Peppy say not too long ago popped into his head.

_"…most pilots wouldn't know a thing about flying it if they sat down in the cockpit…"_

Fox turned his head to the side to see Slippy at the top of the ladder, leaning over the edge of the cockpit with an "I told-you-so" smile on his face.

"Uh… yeah… this is a bit different…" The interior of the Arwing was quite a jumble of new and unheard of controls… to start; the steering controls were dual stick as opposed to one. There were many screens and button controls in every corner of the interior, the cornerian fighter had one screen and one dashboard, and to finish it off, there were extra levers and even a few peddles here and there along the sides, up above and even below him. "This looks… very complicated…"

"Well, the design for an Arwing is very unique and very complex… so it's only natural that it takes a very complex style of control to maximize its potential… I mean, the G-diffuser doesn't just work by itself… you control its frequencies and shifts with all these levers and peddles… the Arwing was also designed as more than a combat vehicle, it has many devices including scanners and wave emitters, which is what all these extra controls and screens are for…" Fox glanced around as Slippy have him the basic rundown. Even though he didn't know how, he was really itching to fly this thing; it was pulling him by the tail. But alas, he remembered what happened the last time he tried something reckless, so he decided to play it safe and look over the manual (maybe). The two spent the next hour or so looking over the arwing with slippy pointing out design differences and unique characteristics. Fox was enthralled by the whole thing.

"Wow Slip… that's all I can say… wow…" He stood up in the cockpit. "Thanks so much buddy, I owe you big time… for now though, I think I'll read that instruction novel." He joked as the two made it off the ladder. "Oh and by the way… keep this a secret, even from Bill okay?" Slippy nodded as Fox picked up the book and glanced at it momentarily before checking his wristband. "Oh wow, we've been at this for a while… want to get lunch?" He asked Slippy.

"Oooh yes! I'm so hungry!" The frog frantically ran ahead and towards the mess hall. Fox just chuckled as he followed up behind.

…

…

Fox and Slippy sat down at their usual table, which Bill already had occupied for them. Fox eyed his tray as he took his seat with a disgusted expression.

"Peas and dry leftover meat… I swear the mess hall has been gradually trying to kill us… He glanced at Slippy for some kind of response, but the amphibian was too busy stuffing his face to answer. So he glanced at Bill who was putting down his makeshift burger.

"Well you can't blame them this week, half the staff left on the Titan for a diplomatic meeting on Katina…" The Greyhound explained. The Titan was the largest ship in the Cornerian fleet, a Dreadnaught class starship and the pride of the Conrerian military. It was an old ship, reaching up to about fifty years old now, but was constantly upgraded and refit to keep it in top shape. It was known being a key component in many military victories in Cornerian history. "…even if they didn't go though, they aren't making food for the actual soldiers, so they'd probably phone it in anyway." He added on the end with a laugh.

"That's motivation right there if I've ever seen it." Fox sarcastically commented. The two continued to chew the rag until Fox caught sight of a familiar grey hare walking into the mess hall. "Hm? Peppy?" Bill turned around to see who Fox was looking at.

"He's still here?" Bill questioned while dangling a piece of meat from his fork. "I heard his Arwing was completely repaired a few weeks ago… I thought he'd be out by now…" He stopped as Slippy suddenly coughed up some peas while eating too fast.

"Whoa there, you alright?" Fox reached over and placed a hand on the amphibians shoulder.

"Yeah, *cough* I'm fine…" He pounded his chest and held up his index finger. "One sec…" He took a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry, I know why Peppy is still around…" Fox and Bill ceased eating for a moment to listen up. "I heard from my dad that Peppy is trying to gain the favor of the Cornerian government. He wants to overrule General Sarkley's decision to not mobilize for a possible attack on Corneria…" Fox wasn't surprised, but this was the first Bill had heard of anything of the sort.

"Wait, what? Attack? Mobilization?" He set down his fork and leaned towards Slippy. Fox chuckled.

"Slip, I think that's supposed to be confidential… the only reason I know was because it involved my father, but how did you find out?" He glanced at Bill who looked a little spooked. "And settle down Bill, we don't want to cause a panic in the mess hall." Bill grunted and sat back into his seat.

"Well, I kinda eavesdropped on my dad when he was talking to General Pepper…" Slippy explained, but Bill was still unsatisfied, which Fox noted.

"This was all part of the Starfox betrayal in the news Bill, the one who paid off Pigma to kill my father and Peppy could possibly have other plans, Peppy is just being cautious…" Bill nodded and noticed Fox looked a little down.

"Ah… sorry for making you think about it…" He quickly added, thinking of how Fox must feel about the whole situation. The vulpine just shook his head.

"No worries… I've already come to terms with it… I'm not just going to forget about it, but I'm not gonna curl up and cry like a baby…" He perked up as he saw Peppy again. The hare was reading something on his electronic wristband with a serious expression. His head snapped up and he dashed out of the hall. "What was that all about?" Fox said to himself. His attention shifted as Falco stormed by with his trey. The avian looked pissed about something. "Someone's got their tail feathers in a bunch…" Fox said a little louder than normal, as if purposely trying to get the avian's attention. It was a failure as was usual. It had been a while since any of them had seen Falco, the training sessions had been broken up recently, splitting the cadets into two groups for a morning and night session. Fox and Bill were in group A and Falco in B. They had all heard that Falco was acing every test, leaving his teammates in the dust every time, but it was a little unfair because most of the better pilots were in group A, leaving Falco to brush aside those who were not as promising.

"Falco just being himself huh?" Bill commented as soon as the falcon was a good distance away. However, before either of them got a chance to speak again, a loud, shrill alarm claxon filled the room. Fox and Bill along with the rest of the cadets present all stood up immediately and glanced around in surprise, save for Slippy who began coughing on his own food again.

"What the hell?" Fox said as a few high ranking officers burst into the room. A bulldog stepped forward.

"All cadets report to the training hangar immediately! This is not a drill!" All the cadets glanced among one another, confused. "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY! MOVE IT!" Without second thought the cadets all made a break for the exit, following behind the officers. As they piled out of the mess hall a red streak of light suddenly plunged to the ground causing an explosion beside the entrance. Fox and Bill were lucky to be near the back of the group because some near the front were sent flying by the blast.

"WHAT THE SHIT?" Bill yelled as stepped back from the door. A husky officer ran past them.

"DON'T STOP CADETS! WE NEED TO GET TO THE HANGAR! MOVE AND KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!" Fox and Bill swallowed their fear and followed the husky into the fray. Fox glanced up in horror as multiple silver triangular ships with blue and orange designs cluttered the sky above, firing upon the Cornerian base. Another volley of laser fire rained down upon the courtyard, tossing Fox and Bill aside from a blast near them. Two cadets behind them were hit directly, disappearing in a ball of fire with screams of agony.

"AAAAAHHHH!" FOX yelled out as he kept charging forward with Bill right behind. A large gust of wind knocked him down face first into the grass, he glanced up again as he rose to spot Cornerian fighters whisking by overhead to meet the invasion. Bill grabbed Fox by the back of the shirt and hoisted him up as they continued through the cacophony to the hangar. They burst through the main door, as did many other recruits and filed in. The officers in charge in the hangar tried to keep them orderly as they frantically took positions to be addressed.

A familiar Husky, Xavier Gunner stepped up. "Okay, listen up cadets! We've got ourselves quite a shitstorm here! We are under attack by some unknown force, but are short handed due to over half our pilots being away with the Titan! We have no choice but to fight back with what we have! I'm going to read off a list of names! If you're name is read, report to the main section of the hangar for a Cornerian fighter and prepare to launch and assist our pilots out there!" The cadets began to converse amongst themselves in surprise, but were cut off as another explosion rang out from outside. "PAY ATTENTION! I'M ONLY GOING THROUGH THIS ONCE!" Xavier regained their focus.

_What? They can't be serious! Are there really that many away with the Titan? We're just cadets! This is suicide!_ Fox thought to himself, but quickly brushed it out of his head. _NO! Stay calm Fox… this is what you've been training for… you're one of the best pilots in the academy, it's time to…_

"BILL GREY!" Xavier's voice rang out.

_Bill… that figures… hold on buddy I'll be out there to help you…_ Then something struck him as Xavier continued. A few names later, he skipped Falco. _Wait a minute… what? I know he's an ass and doesn't follow orders but…_

"BRUCE MALLIANO… SAM MCCALLY… WILSON MORRIS…" Fox's ears perked up and he replayed the last three names in his head.

_Wait a minute…_ His jaw dropped. _He… skipped me?_ Fox couldn't believe it. How could they skip him? Falco he could understand, but him? _There's gotta be some mistake… _He gritted his teeth and waited for Xavier to finish.

"Everyone else report to the lower levels of the base for safety! MOVE!" Fox stepped forward as the crowd began to disperse.

"Sir!" Fox addressed Xavier.

"Well, if it ain't Outlaw, this better be important punk!"

"Sir, there's got to be a mistake! Did you miss my name? Sir!" Fox addressed with perfect respect. Xavier spat on the ground beside him.

"Last time I checked I could read punk! If command wanted you and your reckless ass out there to fly a piloted missile into a single enemy then they'd have put you on the list! I might not mind if you get yourself killed, but they sure do for some god damn reason! Now get out of my face and get below!" The words were harsh and cut right through him. All this time, after all the high marks he received and high scores, he was deemed too reckless? "DO I NEED TO REPEAT MYSELF YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Xavier was right in his face. For the first time, Fox forgot the respect required towards superior officers.

"No. I hear you loud and clear…" He said with a slight growl in his voice. Before Xavier could lose his head, Fox turned his back to him swiftly and stormed towards the hangar lobby.

_This is bullshit… this is COMPLETE bullshit… I bust my ass for three years and they don't consider me in a situation like this._ His mind was in a fit of rage as he was led down the hallways along with the rest of the cadets through the hallways of the hangar's connecting building. Then his ears caught a familiar noise, the noise of an engine that was not the same as a Cornerian fighter's. He glanced out the window just in time to see a silver and blue fighter streak past the window and break off towards the dogfight outside. He stopped and stared out the window.

_That was… and Arwing… Peppy is out there too…_ suddenly his mind was struck with an idea.

*…_as long as you never give up, and trust your instincts, you can do anything… but most of all… Always remember to follow your heart…*_

His ears and tail pointed up and his fur stood on end. _Wait... That's… that's it!_

"Keep moving cadet!" A buck officer grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to push him along. A smirk crawled onto Fox's lips.

"Sorry… but I can't do that…" He grabbed the officer's hand and yanked it forwards, twisting his own body around so that he would throw off the deer's balance. The officer tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. Fox made a break back down the hallway and through the incoming flow of cadets. They all stared, confused as Fox weaved his way through them in the wrong direction. Officers began yelling at him to stop and started chasing after him, but Fox was too quick, and eventually made it to the front doors, as he did, a familiar Lynx turned the corner.

"Foxy?" Miyu said in surprise, and a surprise it was for Fox to see her taking something seriously instead of jumping at him at first sight. She saw him with his hand on the doors leading outside. "Where are you going? It's dangerous out there!" Fox tried finding the words to say, but instead a thought crossed his mind. He wouldn't be able to prep a launch by himself so he reached for her and grabbed her by the arm. "F-FOXY?"

"Follow me, don't ask questions, and whatever you do **don't stop running!**" With that he threw the door open and dragged her out into the courtyard, which had been pulverized and torn up by impacting laser fire and downed ships. More explosions shook the ground as Fox and his reluctant tag along sprinted into the cross fire.

"OH MY GOD!" Miyu shrieked and tried to crouch down, but she was yanked along by Fox.

"KEEP WITH ME!" He barked back at her and she got to her feet, following behind him with tears of fear in her eyes. Fox made a break towards the mechanic center, specifically for Slippy's hangar, but there was still much distance to cover. As they came near, a Cornerian fighter, engulfed in flames, passed right over them, careening straight into the strategy classroom building before exploding. Fox dove to the ground, pulling Miyu down with him to avoid being thrown by the blast. Fox quickly got to his feet and forced Miyu to do the same, which he was glad he did, because the building capsized and collapsed, sending a massive cloud of dust into the air. Fox refused to stand around, and pushed through the cloud to the entrance of the mechanic hangars. As they burst through the door, several of the mechanic cadets were sprinting here and there, trying to find some sort of safety or cover.

_Wait… I didn't even think about Slippy! I wonder where he is…_ He quickly shifted his thoughts. _No, he's fine… he's quick to hide and good at doing so… I need to focus here…_ His arm was suddenly squeezed tightly. He glanced to see Miyu, attached to his arm, sweating and hyperventilating.

"Why… the HELL… did we do that!" She spat out between gasps for air.

"Thanks for reminding me why I'm here!" Fox responded as he began dragging her again. As he did, they passed a white poodle who stopped and watched them go by. After glancing towards the path to safety and then back towards the two, she turned around and followed them.

"Here!" Fox forced Miyu off of his arm and dashed towards the tarp covered project of Slippy's. Miyu staggered up behind him, but as Fox threw the tarp off the ship, her eyes widened.

"An… An Arwing?" She gasped at the sight. "But… I thought Peppy Hare was already out there!"

"He is!" Fox yelled as he climbed up the ladder. "I had Slippy build this one for me! Now help me prep it!" He ordered. Miyu blinked a few times and then saw where he was going with this.

"You're not thinking of flying out there in this thing are you? We've only been trained with Cornerian fighters!" She was beginning to irritate him.

"I KNOW THAT! DIDN'T I SAY DON'T ASK QUESTIONS! HELP ME!" He yelled at her. She was taken aback by the sudden outburst, but reluctantly nodded and ran to the base of the ship. She began removing the docking locks as Fox surveyed the dashboard for the ignition switch. "Come on… come on… where is it?" His eyes landed on a large green switch below the main radar screen with a button cap over it. "Let's try that." He flipped the cap open and pressed the button. A loud click followed by a small shriek rang out below the fighter. "Oops…" Miyu had fallen over to avoid a scanning scope that had popped out from underneath the Arwing. "Sorry!" He yelled and pushed the button again to retract it. "….there!" He had to have it right now. He pressed a large red switch on the overhead control panel. A soft hum filled the cockpit and the displays sprang to life. "Yes! She lives!" Fox yelled out. He hadn't a clue what half the screens were for, but the one in front was a display for his shields and hull. The two beside him on the left were the radar and G-diffuser display. The one on his right remained blank. "Okay, I need to hover now… which one…"

"Foxy! I can't get the hangar doors open!" Fox glanced down to his left to see Miyu fussing over the control panel for the hangar itself.

"Why not! Hurry!" She stomped her foot on the ground.

"It's password protected! I can't!" She hissed back. Fox growled and slammed his hand against the dashboard.

"Dammit! Now what?" He yelled to himself.

"Um…" The two snapped their heads to the hangar entrance and a white poodle stood in the door. "I…I can get it open…" Fox and Miyu glanced at each other, unsure of what to say, but the poodle didn't wait for a response, she trotted right over to the control panel and took over for Miyu. A minute later she had cracked Slippy's pass code and the doors of the hangar slowly began to open. Fox's eyes widened in amazement and he flashed a smile towards the poodle.

"Thank you! I owe you one…uh… what's your name?" He clumsily asked.

"M-me…? I'm Fay…" She meekly replied.

"You're a lifesaver Fay, I'll pay you back somehow!" With that Fox plopped back down into the seat as Miyu pulled the ladder away from the Arwing. "Okay… hover… hover…"

"It's the blue one beside the ignition!" Fox's ears caught Fay's voice again. He glanced down and saw her with Slippy's ridiculous manual in her hands. He smiled and flashed her a thumbs-up before hitting the designated switch. The Awring lifted off the ground much more gently than the Cornerian fighter and seemed to sit still directly in place with little wobbling. He found the switch to lower the cockpit shield and reached behind him to pull the four point restraints over his head, buckling them into place before glancing at all the levers strewn about.

_Great… which one's the throttle…_ His eyes landed on a simple lever with a color coded speed gauge beside it. _Well, at least that's one thing I can figure out..._ He rested his hand on the throttle and faced straight forward out the hangar doors. It was a warzone out there, this time his life was really in danger, and it wasn't because he was trying to win a bet with Falco. _Okay Fox… this isn't a training exercise… this is real combat… and you're about to dive right in… while flying the same kind of fighter your old man did… which you know nothing of… and have no experience with… not to mention you don't know a thing about how it works…_ He scrunched his face together momentarily, but then chuckled to himself. "Sounds like fun." He said as he eased the throttle forward. The engine began to hiss, but he didn't move. "Hm?" He pushed it further forward, but still no movement, just louder hissing. "Why isn't it…" and for a second he remembered how the Arwings launched right before the super fighter's engine fired and shot itself out into the fray. Fox didn't feel as much as a tiny pull of G-forces due to the G-diffusers but that didn't mean the sonic blast-off didn't almost make him soil himself. He was approaching the dogfight much faster than he would have liked due to his slight anxiety towards this whole idea, but he seized the dual stick controls and charged headlong in.

…

…

"DAMN!" The old hare cursed as his cabin jostled from a direct hit to the nose of his ship. He grabbed the lever by his left knee and shifted it down. His Arwing pitched right and he made an almost instant full turn, firing on and destroying his attacker. His eyes shifted to his radar. The number of blue dots signifying the Cornerian forces was dwindling, but the number of red dots signifying enemies was still extremely large. He grabbed the lever by his right knee and pitched upward, u-turning to head toward more incoming enemies. "There's just too many!" He did his best to peg as many enemy ships as he could, but he was alone. The Cornerian fighters were not making their marks, more often than not **becoming** marks of the ground from being shot down. Pretty soon, Peppy watched his radar as the remaining friendly fighters neared the single digits. "This is not good… I need backup… God dammit James… I could use you right about now!" He said to himself as he tried to lose about fifteen enemies tailing him.

His eyes grow wide as he spots something flying right towards him. Green laser fire shoots past his ship erratically, mostly missing the fighters behind him, but taking out three or four of the unsuspecting villains. Peppy stares in shock as the fighter passes right over his. _Was that… AN ARWING!_ Alarms were going off in his mind. Without a second thought, Peppy put his fighter into a u-turn and followed the ship, he watched as the Arwing took a very wide turn to come back towards him, he shifted around a few levers and turned with it to fly side by side, glancing into the cockpit. His eyes widened when noticed vulpine in the seat. _J-JAMES?_ He frantically linked a communication channel to the fighter beside him and the screen to his right came to life.

Fox jumps in surprise as the screen on his right suddenly activates. Peppy's face appeared on the screen. The hare blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, before his expression turned hard and incredulous.

"WHAT? FOX?" He yelled over the channel. Fox smiled and gave him a casual wave.

"Hey Peppy! Need a hand?" He was hoping the hare would downright accept, but Peppy looked furious.

"Fox McCloud! How in highflying holy angels did you get an Arwing?"

"Er… long story…" Fox suddenly felt a little worried. Before Peppy could bark at him again though, Fox's radar began beeping and multiple enemy dots appeared on it.

"We'll talk later." Peppy said flatly as his face disappeared from the screen. Fox watched as Peppy's Arwing did a complete turnaround within about a five foot radius and sped off towards the incoming targets. Fox was not about to be left out, and veered hard to the left on the dual stick controls, but the Arwing only pitched slightly to the left and proceeded to take the longest, widest turn Fox had ever seen a fighter take. By the time he had turned around, all seven enemy dots on the radar were gone and Peppy's fighter flew by him again.

_How the hell did he turn around so fast? Come to think of it, why are the controls so stiff? I thought Arwings were supposed to be super maneuverable… a Cornerian fighter is more nimble than this!_ Fox began pondering why nothing seemed to be working like he had thought, and was hoping that it wasn't a design flaw on Slippy's part, but that was next to impossible, Slippy never messed up anything. Fox glanced from side to side at the two blue blades that held the G-diffusers. _Are these things not working? I don't get it! _Fox suddenly broke from his thoughts as red lights streaked over his windshield. Enemies were tailing and firing on him. He was so busy wondering what was wrong that he didn't notice his radar flashing. Naturally, he pushed the throttle full force thinking to shake them with pure speed as he always did in the simulators and training flights, but with the low mobility of the Arwing, he found he could only accelerate and make his enemies chase him. "Shit! What am I doing wrong!" He complained to himself. The screen to his right sprang to life again and Peppy appeared.

"Fox do you have any idea how to actually pilot an Arwing!" The hare fumed over the comm.

"Well… not really…" He began as he tried desperately to escape the enemies on his tail. "But it can't be that much different from the Cornerian fighter! They were both built by Beltino right?" He frantically tried to explain himself.

"God damn kids these days!" Peppy growled as his face left the screen. Fox was taken by surprise as Peppy's Arwing sped past him at incredible speed. Fox glanced back and forth from the throttle to Peppy's Arwing.

_But… I'm going full speed! How is he going that fast?_ In one fluid motion, Peppy's ship twisted left and spun around, stopping with his ship completely tilted to one side, then executed a 180 degree turn within three feet of its starting point and flew right over fox blasting all of the ships behind him one by one. Fox watched in awe as Peppy pulled off the impossible maneuver, only to appear right beside him again in a matter of seconds. _That… was awesome… but how?_

"Didn't you hear me say before that there's a **REASON** only a select few fly these things? If they were that simple to control, the whole damn Cornerian army would be using them!" It suddenly struck Fox that this could possibly be the most reckless decision he had ever made in his life. He was out in his first real dogfight, against the wishes of his superiors, and to top it off he was flying a fighter that he hadn't a clue how to control properly. His chances of living through this seemed less than jumping off a cliff with no parachute. His radar sprang to life and red dots began appearing not too far away. Peppy immediately sped towards the signals. Out of instinct, and once again without thinking much, Fox pushed the throttle full and followed behind Peppy. The hare noticed a green dot moving up behind him and growled before angrily activating his comm. channel with Fox again. "Fox…Back off NOW! I'd rather not explain to General Pepper how the McCloud Legacy died in an act of pure idiocy!" At that point something gave way within Fox's head.

"Shut up!" Fox yelled directly at the screen, earning wide eyes and raised eyebrows from Peppy. "I don't **CARE** if I don't know how to pilot this thing! They held me back from protecting the academy so this was the only damn option I had! There was no way I was gonna just sit there with my tail between my legs and let these assholes blow the place apart!" There was a brief and awkward silence. Peppy looked shocked, but Fox could have sworn he saw a small smile appear on the hare's face.

_Like father like son…_ Peppy let out a large sigh and shook his head. "I can't believe I'm about to do this…" He looked up and directly into Fox's eyes. "Listen up, we only have a few seconds so I'll give you the short version and let you figure it out!" Foxes ears stood up in surprise. Peppy was going to teach him the controls? "First of all you don't even have the damn wings open! There should be a switch beside the hover controls, flip it on!" Fox eyed the overhead board, found the switch and flipped it. A soft hum played through his ears and he glanced out to see the wings of the fighter shifting. "This will help with general maneuverability, now it should handle just like a Cornerian fighter. Now pay attention because this part is important!" Fox listened carefully, determined not to miss a single detail. "There are four levers, one below the steering controls, one to your left and right by your knees, and one that should be by your right arm! These each control a different axis of the G-diffuser system output. In order to use an Arwing properly you need to be quick and make crafty use of these! The left lever by your knee controls the X- axis and right controls the Y… use these to exaggerate the horizontal and vertical movements of the Arwing, using the very force bubble created by the G-diffusers to push the fighter in an extremely tight radius. The one beside your arm disengages the gravity lock allowing intense and precise maneuvers such as quick and sudden turns, and the one below the controls is the most important…" He was cut off as red bolts of laser fire began zipping past them Peppy quickly broke contact and engaged the enemy. Fox eyes the lever next to his left foot.

_Hmm… he said it was important…_ He looked back forward. _But I haven't a clue what it does… _He glanced down past his legs. _He didn't explain the peddles either… oh well, at least I have a little bit of an idea now, let's just see what this baby can really do!_ As he reached for the throttle a laser bolt struck the nose of his ship, he was shaken up by the impact and his right foot smacked against the right peddle. The Awring's engines suddenly fired violently and the fighter sped forward at an incredible speed. Peppy had to react quickly, veering left as he saw Fox's radar blip surge towards him. Fox seized the controls as the engine died down and immediately noticed that he was in the fray. A few green laser bolts flew over his windshield, taking out the two enemies in front of him before Peppy sped by and broke off to continue his attack. Fox's first instinct was to break right, but he stopped himself, remembering the short rundown on the controls. He reached for the left lever beside his knee and shifted it up before forcing the dual stick right. As he had hoped, the Arwing made an incredibly sharp turn to the right. _Yes! I think I got this! Now I just need to figure out the targeting…_ The targeting HUD wasn't much different than the Cornerian fighter's, but the sensitivity and dual stick were proving to be quite different in terms of keeping the reticles on a target. Despite this minor setback, Fox held his thumbs down upon the buttons that topped the dual sticks, spewing laser fire from the nose tip laser cannon everywhere due to the sheer number of enemies remained. His screen came to life with Peppy's face.

"Careful Fox! There are still some Cornerian fighters out here!" Fox instantly removed his thumbs from the fire buttons. As he did, bogeys appeared behind him. He quickly grabbed the lever by his right arm and pulling it back, the Awring controls suddenly loosened. Fox gripped the lever by his left knee and pulled it down while he pulled back hard on the main controls, causing the Arwing to tilt up violently and loop around completely until he was directly behind the enemies that were chasing him. With a few well placed and somewhat lucky shots, Fox took down the incredulous enemies, with a glance at the radar, Fox noticed that the remaining number of foes was dwindling and smiled in success as he broke off to find more targets. Peppy saw the entire maneuver from a little ways away and was very impressed.

_A somersault? I never thought of that one… he must've combined lever functions… damn he catches on quick!_ However, Peppy's awe was replaced by fear as he watched almost every enemy ship on the radar head towards Fox. The hare quickly turned about and used the levers to U-turn vertically, slamming his foot to the right peddle to boost towards Fox, but it was too late. Fox was surrounded by about twenty or more fighters and they were ready to fire. Fox was wary of his situation and was frantically thinking about what combination of levers could get him out of this one. He thought about kicking the peddle that he figured was the boost, but the ships were so tightly packed together that he would risk a collision. He knew he only had seconds before they fired upon him, but nothing came to mind. Then his eyes fell upon the lever below the controls, the one that Peppy didn't have time to explain, then back at the fighters, and then back to the lever.

"SCREW IT!" He yelled as he reached for the lever. It had a rectangular handle so he just grabbed hold and yanked it towards him. The ship shook slightly as if something unlocked and the control became very unstable. Fox was surprised and moved his hand out to steady himself as Peppy's face appeared on the screen. The ships around Fox all fired at the same time as Peppy frantically yelled,

"FOX! DO A B…" Before he could finish, the arm Fox moved to brace himself inadvertently hit the X-axis lever and at the same time his leaning pulled the controls left. The Awring suddenly twisted violently and out of control.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Fox yelled to himself as everything became on giant blur. The laser fire connected with the spinning ship, but was deflected; every bolt bounced right off the twisting Arwing and flew in a random direction, taking down more than half of the fighters that surrounded Fox. With their numbers now dangerously low, the enemy ships retreated and sped off towards the sky. Fox struggled to grab the lever he recklessly pulled and shoved it back down into place. The Arwing stopped spinning, but he was upside down. He panted heavily, trying to figure out what had just happened, but when he noticed that the enemies were all gone; he breathed a sigh of relief and eased the throttle down. Peppy's arwing flew by his slowly and back towards Beltino's hangar. Fox was surprised when Peppy didn't acknowledge him at all, but then he remembered that he had just broken about every rule and regulation in the book. _Ah jeez… this is not gonna be good… but… they'll thank me for the help right…?_ He tried to convince himself, but he was sure he was in deep shit either way. Reluctantly, he worked the X Axis lever to put himself back upright and slowly flew back to Slippy's hangar.

Fox gulped as he neared the open hangar doors, and cringed slightly when he saw multiple figures standing there waiting for him. He gently set the Arwing down and killed the engine. _Here goes everything…_ He thought as he released his seatbelts and raised the cockpit shield. He finally took in who was all waiting for him. Peppy, Beltino holding a very frightened Slippy by the collar, Miyu looking very pale, worst of all, General Pepper. The three grownups looked livid. Fox didn't make eye contact with a single one of them as he descended the ladder and walked up before them. He stopped and stood perfectly still with his shoulders hunched and his head down, but then realized that General Pepper was present so he quickly stood attention.

"Oh, so now you respect your superiors?" The words from the general cut deep. "I can't begin to tell you how furious I am Fox McCloud… Ignoring direct orders… Assaulting a superior officer… forcing other cadets to partake in your little schemes… and to top it off putting other cadets in unnecessary danger!" Fox remembered how harsh a raised voice felt from the kind General. Peppy suddenly cut in.

"Fox, I'll admit that you did help me out there… but this… this is too much. I commend your bravery, but you'll get yourself killed if you keep pulling reckless stunts…" He turned his head to the Arwing. "I'll be completely honest with you by saying you've gone way too far…"

"That's another thing!" Beltino cut in, making Slippy yelp. "The Arwing is a very complicated and private design… you do realize that the plans you and my son used are copyrighted material, that's borderline burglary!" Fox held the attention despite the verbal battery he was being issued. General Pepper stepped forward and got right up to Fox's face to make himself crystal clear.

"Fox… you've really managed to aggravate everyone at higher command… They've decided to suspend your activity at the academy until they decide what to do with you… you are to be confined to the barracks and mess hall." He turned and began moving away. "Beltino, I'll leave your son to you… and Miss Link…" Miyu nearly shrieked when he said her name. "You are free to go; you were dragged into this against your will." She only nodded and turned her back to everyone as she left hastily. "Fox…" The general called his name without turning around. "With all the violations you've managed to rack up you'd be lucky if all they do is discharge you… I pray for your future… because right now, it looks bleak... They all turned away and proceeded to the exit. Fox relaxed his body and sighed heavily. He turned around and looked at the Arwing carefully.

_Father… I followed my heart… but what has it gotten me into…?_

…

…

If there was one thing that bothered Fox the most about the situation, it was the fact that the only thing any of the higher ranking officers could think of was the bad side of his recent actions. Not a single one thought to thank him for practically, albeit accidentally saving the compound. Fox was clearly a factor in that, the ships may have been few by the time he launched, but nearly all of the Cornerian fighters had been shot down or retreated and he wasn't sure if Peppy could have done it alone. Even with the few ships the enemy had they could have easily peppered the base with laser fire till nothing had remained.

Fox grumbled all these ideas to himself as he lay shirtless in bed on his left side.

"Jackasses… I save their skins and they berate me… seriously…" He turned over and looked at his clock. He was bored out of his mind, and it was only 11:00 AM. Lunch wouldn't be served for another hour. He sat up and glanced out his window, there was a commotion outside. At first Fox felt no need to even care, but with nothing else to do he grabbed the window sill and shoved it open. There was a chilly breeze, which was made apparent as it passed by his uncovered upper body, but he did not even so much as shiver. He had better things to think about than being cold. He was lucky that Xavier was gathering the cadets together because there was no place in the base you couldn't hear the loud Husky.

Xavier had all the cadet's lined up, which unfortunately was less due to tragic casualties during the attack the previous week, and had them standing in an area of grass that was moderately still intact.

"Listen up cadets! The word from higher command has just reached us! Mobilization for war against an unknown threat has begun! And due to the unknown status of our enemy, command has issued that we have the largest available force possible! Which brings me to my next point!" Fox leaned closer to the window, as if it would make a difference, he was just really hoping he wouldn't hear what he was about to hear. "We have given command a list of Cadet's that we deem battle ready! The list will be posted in the cadet lounge within the hour! If your name is on the list, report to the main tower briefing room by 1400 hours! That is all!"

Fox's mouth hung open_. Again with the cadet's. Most of them were probably scared shitless already by last week's attack._ Fox sat there on his window sill for another moment as the cadets dispersed. He was pondering his chances of being on the list. _What am I saying… there's no way I'd be on there… not after all the shit I've gotten myself into…_ He swallowed and looked away at the door to his room. _But then again… someone had to see the sense in my actions right…? I mean come on, even if it was sloppy I was a key factor in the victory…_ With his mind split he growled in discomfort. _This is too much to think about… I'll just go look…_ With that he grabbed his favorite green t-shirt and trudged out of his room while pulling it over his head.

He arrived at the lounge before the list was posted, but wasted no time in claiming and plopping down in the couch in the corner near the entrance. Other cadets began filing in, all waiting anxiously for the list to be posted. Most of them eyed Fox on the way in, mumbling things about him as they entered. He was already well known before by the compound, but now he had earned himself quite a reputation as a trouble maker. At this point he was even giving Falco a run for his money. Fox scanned the crowd as they entered. He saw neither Bill nor Falco, but assumed they would just come in later. His attention was diverted to the door as an officer walked in with a few papers in his hand; a commotion started as the Bulldog weaved through the crowd to the side wall and taped all the papers to it. Fox forced himself up and towards the sheets as many mixed reactions sprang from the crowd. Some were sighing in relief that they were not picked while others were angered by it. Some were happy to be picked and some dreaded the choice. When Fox finally managed to get within viewing distance he quickly scanned the sheets for M. He got to the fifth sheet he found the M's and read through them.

_Shit…_ He thought to himself as he passed the Mc's. _What the hell was I even thinking… there was no chance…_ But before he pulled himself away he decided to look up some other names. He scanned for the G's and spotted Bill's name. _Doesn't surprise me… He's pretty much me but without the attached screw ups…_ Thinking of whom else he could find he went to the S's. _Ah… Samson made it… The big lug always had higher stuff coming to him…_ Out of pure curiosity he looked at the L's. When he found them he scanned through, stopped, and scanned through again. _Wait… they're keeping Falco out?_ He was surprised to say the least, despite being real stubborn and disrespectful; Falco had done nothing anywhere near as bad as him… at least nothing he knew of. _Well at least I won't get lonely…_ His own thoughts were being sarcastic. He made his way back up a few floors and to his room. _Is there really nothing I can do…? _He moved across his room and back to his window. _What would you do Father?_ He stared out the window as his thoughts endlessly swirled around in his head. Then his eyes fell on someone walking down the torn up pathway of the courtyard. Normally it would be hard to tell who anyone was from the distance, but Fox knew those big ears anywhere. _Peppy…? He's still here? Well I guess he's got nothing better to…_ Fox's mind literally stopped and he could have sworn something hit him in the face because it sure felt like that. _My Father… he would… he would probably do something… unorthodox…_ A smile curled to onto his face. "Oh yes… he would… he totally would…" Fox chuckled to himself and quickly ran out of his room, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

Despite have been given strict orders to not leave the premises of the Barracks or Mess Hall, Fox dashed right through the doors and into the courtyard.

"Peppy!" He called out. One of the hare's ears stood up, catching his name.

"Hm?" He turned towards the voice, and furrowed his brow at what he saw. Fox ran all the way through the tattered courtyard and right up to the old Starfox pilot. "Fox… You know you aren't supposed to be out here…" He said with a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"Okay, okay, nice to see you too Peppy, but boy I'm glad I saw you… you gave me a brilliant idea…" the words made Peppy both interested and worried.

"Whatever it is, I hope it's not something that will get you in more trouble than you already are…" He paused and glanced around to make sure there were no officers around. "But if it's that important, let's go back to the barracks so you don't get caught out here…" Fox was extremely eager to share his newest revelation with Peppy, but he agreed in order to stave off any unwanted predicament. Fox led Peppy back to his room, which he cursed at upon seeing that he left his door wide open. The two made their way in and Fox closed the door behind him. "Alright, what is it…" Peppy fell into Fox's desk chair and reached his leg up to rest his ankle on his opposite knee sitting back as far as the chair would lean.

"Okay…" Fox took a deep breath and faced Peppy. "Peppy… what do you say we… reform Starfox?" Peppy suddenly fell back, pushing the chair too far and toppled over onto the floor with a yelp. He groaned and rolled over, picking himself up slowly.

"Please tell me I didn't just hear that…" He said as he picked up the chair and placed it back upright. "Fox you've gone way above and beyond ridiculous this time…"

"Peppy… I'm serious…" Peppy stopped, hearing the iron willed tone in Fox's voice. He flattened his expression and stared him right in the eyes.

"Well…" He began as he carefully sat back down in the chair. "You do seem serious… so I'll give you a straight answer… **no**." Fox lowered his eyebrows.

"Peppy… this is the only way I can join the fighting… will you take away a chance to avenge my father?"

"And how do you expect to do that Fox… by charging headlong at Andross swinging your fists? With the way you jump into the worst situations possible I seriously wouldn't put it past you…" Fox slammed his fist on the wall.

"Dammit Peppy I know I've made mistakes but that doesn't mean I'll make them twice!"

"Doesn't mean you won't though… you've given me no reason to believe that this is a good idea… did you even consider that there'd be only two of us? The Arwing may be a powerful fighter… but even the Arwing is vulnerable alone… Even with the two of us our odds would be next to nothing in our favor.

"Did that ever stop my father?" Fox's tone had become hushed, but that was exactly what those words needed. A long silence worked its way in between the two.

"James… James was different Fox…" Fox spun around with his back turned to Peppy and threw his arms up into the air.

"But I'm his son!" He turned back around and almost got in the old Hare's face. "He may be gone…" Fox pounded his fist into his chest."…but I'm still here! We can reform the Starfox team! We can let his legacy live on! I'd rather be rash if that's what it took for me to live out his dream as my own! It would be better than sitting here and rotting in my damn room while the system falls into a bloody war!" Peppy replayed the words carefully. The tone, the effort, the confidence, and the heart. The words Fox just said to him held all the weight and all the factors that made James unique as a person, a pilot, and a friend. Peppy almost wasn't sure who he was talking to, if not for the difference in the voice, he probably would have mistaken him for James. The hare closed his eyes and sighed while mumbling to himself.

"Okay Fox… I'll play this little game of yours… **but**…" He held his index finger in the air. "There are things that need to be done… if we don't take care of these things… then you're better off "rotting" in your room."

"Lay it on Peppy, I'll do anything to get this in motion." Fox could hardly believe he got Peppy to comply; the excitement was almost making him shiver.

"One." The hare began. "We need another Pilot… Arwings are strong fighters indeed, but their invincible nature comes from working in a group of at least three… if we can get that together, the bulk of that statement will become apparent to you in time… which brings me to two." He held up two fingers. "If we find another pilot, I will have Beltino make a simulator for an Arwing… I will **not allow** you to fly another Arwing until I've drilled into you every detail in operating one… and three…" He held up three fingers. "…we need a base of operations… this part I will take care of personally… I have something in mind, but I hope Beltino still has it… Got all of that?"

"So in reality… I just need to find another pilot…" Fox felt it was simpler than Peppy made it out to be.

"You better hope you can… because until you do, none of the other things can happen… I'll give you a day to find someone… I will meet with you at this time tomorrow right here in your room… if you don't have someone by then, I'm scrapping the idea and flying with the Cornerian forces… understand?"

"Y… yes…" Fox gulped, the pressure suddenly came down upon him. He had to find a pilot as soon as he could or else all his troubles would have been for naught.

…

…

Fox cursed his luck as the time to meet Peppy drew near the next day. The only person he could think of asking had eluded him.

"Where the hell are you Bill? I hope you haven't been transferred to the main barracks yet…" Fox said to himself as he walked up and down the halls of the barracks. Bill wasn't in his room and the mess hall would only be open for half an hour until he had to meet Peppy. If Bill said no, he was sunk. Unfortunately the Barracks were deserted, so Fox decided to place all his money on the mess hall.

He waited impatiently outside as one by one cadets began to make their way into the lunch room. Fox was worried Bill would enter with the mass lunch rush, because finding him then would be unlikely. But his prayers were answered as Bill was the eighth person to walk in.

"BILL!" Fox nearly yelled in the greyhound's ear. Bill yelled out in surprised, but calmed down when he saw Fox.

"Fox? Where the hell have you been? I haven't seen you in days…" Fox grabbed him by the arm and tugged him away from the door to a secluded corner of the mess hall.

"Look Bill, I need to be real quick… I have a favor to ask of you." Confused, yet interested Bill nodded.

"Okay, shoot."

"Well…" Fox glanced around to make sure nobody was within earshot. "It's a long story as to why I've not been around, but I talked to Peppy recently… He and I are going to get out of here and reform the Starfox team…"

"WHAT?" Bill reacted loudly, but was quickly hushed by Fox. "Oh… yeah sorry."

"But there's a problem… we need one more pilot…" He paused to see if this affected Bill at all. The Greyhound's eyes had widened slightly. "You're the best chance I've got… what do you say… do you want to be part of the Starfox team?" He put a brief smile on as if to appear welcoming, but the surprised expression on Bill's face faded quickly and he sighed. Fox bit his lip, but the response was not what he wanted to hear.

"Fox… I… I wish I could… but… I've got a nice thing going here you know? I've got some of the highest marks in the entire cadet compound… and well they called me back to fight in the war, not only that but they're giving me command of an advanced cadet squadron and possession of the Green Hawk…" Fox's ears drooped. Bill patted him on the shoulder. "I appreciate that you thought of me as an option… but I've got a bright future here that I'm not willing to let go of… sorry man…" They stood in silence for a few moment, but Bill eventually stepped past Fox and left him there without another word.

_Well, shit…_ Fox thought. _Dammit… DAMMIT!_ He kicked the wall. _There goes my chance… god… damn it all…_ It was lunch time, but he was in no mood for food, so he made his way out as quickly as he could to avoid the incoming lunch rush. The time for meeting Peppy was drawing near, but Fox had given up, he moved towards the stairs with the intention of meeting with him and telling him the plan was off. As he turned the first corner of the stairs though, he ran directly into someone, who squawked loudly as Fox accidentally stepped on his foot.

"OW! SHIT! Hey watch where the hell you're going man!" Fox backed off and saw the familiar scowl of his "old buddy" avian. "Oh no wonder, you've always had a thing for running into shit…" Falco stepped aside and began moving past him, but as he did a thought crossed Fox's mind.

_Oh no… oh no no no no no no no no… stop thinking that… STOP…_ _That would NOT work AT ALL…_ He glanced over his shoulder at Falco. _Oh my god, I must be going crazy… I can't believe I'm about to do this…_

"Falco." The Avian stopped and turned his head slightly. Fox turned around, causing the Avian to do so as well and look face to face.

"What do you want pussy?" His name-calling actually made Fox chuckle.

"Still as crass as ever I see…" Fox smiled cockily. Falco looked to be annoyed.

"You trying to start something?" He clenched his fist. "I'd gladly knock you out if that's what you want…"

"I don't think you could… but let's save that for another time… I've got a question for you." Surprised, Falco raised an eyebrow and let his hand relax.

"Make it quick, I got things to do."

"Tell me Falco, do you like it here?" Fox had managed to confuse Falco, and he obviously wasn't likening it.

"What the hell are you getting at?"

"Just answer the question." Fox pressed. Falco crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"I hate it."

"How so?"

"I answered your damn question now beat it." Falco snapped. Fox rolled his eyes.

"Don't be such an asshole, just humor me."

"Hrgh…" Falco grunted angrily. "They hold me down… keep me from doing what I want. All I wanna do is fly, but I gotta go through all this military bullshit… to top it off they don't let me do my thing when the real fighting starts… I can't stand this uptight stuff…" He explained while making annoyed gestures with his hands. Fox smiled.

"That's exactly what I thought you'd say…" He continued to chuckle to himself.

"What are you doing, taking a damn survey or something? Stop being creepy… now if you'll excuse me." He turned to leave again

"Hold it Lombardi…" Fox stopped him after one step by grabbing him by the shoulder.

"I swear to god McCloud, I'm going to rip your lungs out…" He spun around. "WHAT?"

"I find it funny that you don't even ask exactly why I'm questioning you." He knew that struck Falco. The avian couldn't deny the curiosity. "Well, even if you don't care I'll tell you anyway… I've got an offer you might be interested in…" Falco's full attention was now on Fox.

"Oh…? Try me…" He returned to the wall and folded his arms over his chest.

"I've been talking with **the **Peppy Hare since my father was killed… and we've decided to reform the Starfox team… but we need a third pilot." Fox couldn't help but smile when he saw the avian's eyes light up slightly. "Bill decided his military life would be better for him… so that brought me to you… Despite being a douche you can fly, trust me everyone knows that… but that's exactly what we need, I don't care if you hate me, I need a good pilot, and that's what you are. Now put this into perspective…" He turned his back to Falco and held his arms out with his palms spread out, facing away from him. "You will get to fly and master an **Arwing**…" He emphasized the name of the fighter. "One of the most dangerous and feared star fighters in the system… You like to fly… you said it yourself… so why not fly the best there is to offer?" Falco was silent for a moment, but soon a wide smirk appeared on his face.

"McCloud I never thought I'd see the day I'd respect you a little… I mean, you get into so much shit for being a complete dumbass, but you're still willing to pull off ridiculous stunts like this…" He gave Fox a soft punch on the shoulder. "Sounds like fun… I've had it with this place… you can count me in you crazy fucker!" Fox lightly punched him back in response.

"I hope what you were about to do wasn't that important… cause I need to take you to Peppy right now… he's in my room." Fox pointed up the stairs.

"Screw lunch, it probably sucks anyway… lead the way." Falco waved. For the first time Fox felt as though he was getting along with Falco, and with this the gears were all placed and hopefully the new era of Starfox could start turning.

…

…

…

…

"Is she still in there?" Rayner asked as he placed his plateful of food on the stone table. "Guile, did you fall asleep again?" Still no response. The weasel sighed and walked towards the cloth door that led out behind his hut. He stopped above a snoring weasel, sleeping while propped up against the dried bark wall. "Hey!" He yelled while nudging the lazy weasel.

"*Snort* huuuuuh?" Guile woke up and smacked his lips. "Do I smell food?"

"Yes, my food. You touch it, I'll fight you. Now answer my question is she still in there?"

"Oh…" Guile turned and put a hand on the curtain. "Let me look…" Rayner's hand shot out and grabbed it before he could.

"Hey! Watch it! Did you forget she's a girl? Just listen, I know you're not **that** deaf." Rayner berated him.

"Okay! Okay! You're such a grump!" He let go and put his ear to the tarp. "Oh yeah, she's still in there…"

They were referring to their stone bath built behind the hut. It was circular with about a three foot radius and was covered by a leather canopy that draped down on all sides for privacy. It was held up by fixed inch thick branches. It was dark out, but the small area was illuminated by two torches that burned on both sides of the bath. Krystal's Cerinian essentials were draped over a small wooden branch beside a thick woven cloth that she would use to dry off when she was done.

She sighed as she finished dunking her head in the warm water and leaned her back against the ledge as the water dripped down her face and out of her hair. She was recounting everything that had happened since the fateful day…

…

…

With nowhere else to turn, Krystal followed the two weasels just as they had offered. She was still hand in hand with the brown weasel wearing the green tunic, Rayner he said his name was. He was a foot taller than her, as was his friend, but he was walked at her pace and stayed by her side, being courteous and not forcing her along through the densely blue jungle. His partner, the grey weasel in red, seemed to be a bit impatient.

"Why are you walking so slow Rayner?" He asked as he turned to walk backwards.

"I don't want to pull her along you know… I'm trying to be polite…" He scrunched his eyebrows at Guiles lack of tact.

"We're taking so long though… we'd be there by now if we ran…" He kept talking without noticing where he was going.

"Guile watch out for that…" Rayner tried to warn him as the grey weasel fell back first down a small yet steep decline, tumbling into a nearby tree. "…hill…" Rayner chuckled as Guile groaned in discomfort.

"That was unpleasant…" He complained as he picked himself off the ground and reclaimed all the arrows that fell out of his quiver.

"I don't think I should let you run if you can't even walk without taking a spill." He laughed as Guile scowled at him. "Just relax Guile… we'll be back soon enough…" Rayner assured him as his partner continued to grumble and moved on further ahead. Rayner turned to Krystal, who still had traces of tears in her eyes. "Don't worry about him… he's a good person at heart, just gets irritated easily… um…" He stopped for a moment, catching Krystal's attention. "I'm sorry, I feel stupid for not having asked you this, but what is your name? Krystal realized she hadn't told them and sniffled once as she built up the will to speak.

"K-Krystal…" She choked out. Rayner smiled and patted her on the head.

"I'm sorry about your home Krystal… and I don't expect you to just forget about it, but you have nothing to fear… Rishia is a peaceful planet... covered in jungles and wildlife. Our people have lived hand in hand for centuries so I'm told, we live in villages littered all about the planet all within walking distance of at least three other towns… We're heading to our village right now, Shauren, it's not much farther…" He paused and saw Guile way ahead of them now. "Guile! Come on now, don't stray too far from us!"

"You're slow!" Guile yelled back, earning a shake of the head from Rayner.

"Anyway, we'll take you to our village elders… the two of them will be happy to offer you home; it's against our laws to not accept someone into a village…" Despite the state she was in, Krystal had to admit the system the Rishians lived in sounded interesting. Rayner went on to explain how everything worked. The weasels refrained from creating a large city to prevent creating a center where everything was revolved around. The small towns allowed for people to always be on the move and never having to worry about being stuck in the wild. It was a Rishian law to be welcoming to anyone from outside a village, offering them food and shelter if they were without.

The most interesting piece of information however, had to be their companion system. From the day they are born, every Rishian is paired up with another of the same sex within the age range of one year. From that day on the two do everything together, learn to work together, learn to trust one another and use their bond to better themselves, and their community. Every Rishian has a partner in life, including the Elders of each town, who work together to ensure to quality of life and quality of the village. When the time came to start a family, the two would seek out two others of the opposite sex who they felt compatible with. This was the only flaw of the system, because in order to be compatible, both members of the pairs had to be content with one from the other pair, meaning if a male felt he could bond with a female, yet his partner and her partner could not stand each other, it wouldn't work. However, even with that one small flaw (as Krystal saw it) the planet seemed to be a very well organized peace driven society. For Krystal, it was nice to know that she'd be well taken care of… in a way it reminded her of Cerinia.

"Ah… here we are…" Rayner said as he pushed aside a large blue leaf that hung low from the jungle canopy. Krystal took in the full view at the large clearing in the jungle. The village was fairly small, looking to have no more than sixteen huts scattered about and one larger building in the back. The huts were made with what seemed to be white tree bark held together with thick ropes. They were cylinders, about twenty feet from end to end with coned shape roofs made of what looked like stretched leather held down by the same ropes with an opening at the top. Some of the huts had smoke rising from them, signifying the openings were a way to allow smoke from fire to escape instead of linger within the hut. A few of the huts seemed to have little add-ons like extra canopy's or small fences behind or beside them. The large building in back was constructed with similar materials, but it was a longhouse with a flat bark rooftop.

"Finally!" Guile stretched out and yawned. "I could use a good meal and a bath…"

"Hold on now Guile…" Rayner caught him by the shoulder before he could take off.

"We should take her to our elders first…" Guile sighed.

"Darn… you're right though I forgot about that." Guile agreed despite his previous desire to hurry. They led Krystal through the village, passing by other Rishians as they walked. The women and children of the village wore similar cloth tunics that her escorts wore. They acknowledged Guile and Rayner, but mostly took fascination to Krystal. She couldn't blame them. Up until earlier that day, she never could have dreamed there existed other kinds of intelligent creatures besides Cerinian vulpine. First it was the strange creatures from the black shapes in the sky, and then she met these people who referred to themselves as "weasels". She had no doubt the Rishian's felt the same way, so her presence was startling. Rayner politely turned down any questions about Krystal that were thrown his way, assuring them that he had to speak to the elders. Krystal remembered how on Cerinia she was given similar attention due to her status as the "prophesized guardian" but here she felt like muddy stain on a white cloth, standing out as something that didn't belong.

"Okay, here we are…" Rayner spoke to her; she looked up to find they were in front of the longhouse. "No need to worry… the elders are very friendly. Don't worry about being formal, it's a tradition to be straight forward to all Rishians as if you are family… are you ready?" Krystal felt slightly relieved. The concept of an Elder on Cerinia was a position of high power and respect. This would take some getting used to, but she nodded. Guile pulled the tarp open to let them in and followed behind.

The interior was simple, but a little less decorated than Cerinian huts. The room they were in was a perfect square with a door on both sides. There was a table opposite of the entrance with four chairs, two on each side. The walls beside the entrance had short thick sticks driven into them with brown cloths hanging off them and shelves that held wooden cups and pitchers. Behind the table on the back wall was a pile of stones placed up against the back with a pile of ashes in a small pit. Guile walked right past them and grabbed some small logs from a pile in the right hand corner, placing them in the ash pile.

"Wait right here." Rayner patted the top of her hand before letting go. Krystal almost squeezed his hand in protest, not ready to be left alone anywhere, but Rayner only moved towards the left hand door and pushed the cloak aside. She began to hear conversation inside, but couldn't make out any words. Her attention went back to Guile, who had positioned the logs in a pyramid shape against one another, a method Krystal had never seen before. Curious, she moved to the right so she could see clearly around the table and watch. Guile pulled two black stones out of his hand and held them close to the logs before proceeding to strike them together. Krystal continued to observe, wondering why he wasn't using the stick friction method with the logs. When sparks began spitting from the stones surface as he struck them, she realized there was a difference in fire building knowledge.

"Um…" Krystal managed to say. Guile stopped and looked to her.

"Oh? You're speaking… that's a good sign; you've been silent almost the whole way." Krystal wasn't sure if he was being observant or slightly rude, but she had seen enough of this weasel to know his thought process.

"I was… just wondering what you were doing…" She meekly asked.

"Well…" He began as he struck the stones together again. "I'm trying to use these flint stones to start this fire… but…" He struck them again, but as with all the other times the sparks failed to start any fire. "I think I need new stones… these aren't working too well." Krystal put the pieces together. Striking the stones to cause sparks… it was clever. "Rgh… come on…" Guile complained as he kept failing. Krystal felt she should help, but she didn't know if the Cerinian method would work. For all she knew the very bark that made up all the blue leave tree's could be just as different to her as she was different to the Rishians, but then a thought came to her mind. She eyed her staff dangling from her waist. It wasn't an easy thing to look at, nor was it easy to remember what it stood for and how she was unable to fulfill that standing, but right now it would be useful.

"Here… let me…" She unlatched the staff from her waist cloth. Guile looked at her confusingly, then slightly yelped in surprise as her staff fully extended. "Don't worry…" He watched in wonder as Krystal pointed the staff at the pile of logs and a small orb of blue fire left the end of the staff. It collided with the logs and they immediately heated to the point where the burst into an orange and yellow flame. Guile's mouth hung open.

"Um…" Was all he could say before another voice cut him off.

"My, my… that is fascinating…" Krystal spun around and saw Rayner standing beside two older grey weasels. They both wore brown robes with a green and red zigzag line patter traveling horizontally across the chest, but one of them was a head shorter than the other. Krystal immediately retracted her staff and held it behind her back while looking towards the ground shyly. She heard one of the old weasels chuckle.

"Now, now there… no need to be timid." She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "Rayner filled us in on how they found you… why don't you come sit down with us…" Krystal looked up sheepishly and saw the tall, old weasel beckoning her towards one of the chairs. She slowly shuffled over and sat down. The two elders did the same in the chairs across from her.

"This is more comfortable… don't you agree?" The shorter one chimed in. Krystal only nodded again. She knew Rayner told her to be loose and upfront, but she had been taught her whole life to look upon elders with the upmost respect, so she couldn't help but feel nervous. The two elders looked at each other and shrugged slightly. It was clear to them that where ever Krystal had come from, her cultural ethics were different, so they just continued. "Why don't we introduce ourselves… I am Zaric." He placed a hand on his chest.

"And you may call me Larsh." Said the taller one. "Rayner informed us that your name is Krystal, correct?" Krystal nodded quickly, but continued to stare down at the table. They both smiled. "Now I understand there are possibly some unfortunate circumstances that led you to be here on Rishia… would you mind telling us?" Krystal didn't move at all as she heard this. Normally she would be happy to oblige the request of an elder, but the subject was still as clear in her mind as reality itself. Thinking about it made tears well up in her eyes. "Ah…" Larsh immediately notices his mistake and looked to Zaric.

"Forgive us…" Zaric stepped in for his partner. "We are curious, but we should think of your feelings first… it was obviously tragic and very recent… so we won't push you for answers right now…" Krystal sniffled and a single tear ran down her cheek.

"It was not my place to request such an explanation so soon… forget I asked about it for now… clearly what you need at the moment is place to rest and heal your wounded spirit…" Larsh turned to Guile and Rayner. "You two… would you be so kind as to take care of her for a while?"

"I would be happy too…" Rayner nodded.

"If it's what she needs, then we can provide." Guile added.

"Thank you." Larsh acknowledged them and turned back to Krystal. "Again I apologize… we won't force you to talk, and you don't even have to if you don't want to in the end… we are only curious… Guile and Rayner will take good care of you… you can count on that." He smiled at her even though she had yet to really look them in the eye and the two rose from the table, nodding to Guile and Rayner as they left the room. Rayner walked forward and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, you look like you could use some rest." Rayner offered her his hand again and she took it as they led her out of the long house. "You seemed pretty nervous in there…" Rayner spoke as they walked.

"I'm… sorry…" She found it was hard to look at them now too. "On Cerinia, elders were figures of peace and power… always to be respected greatly… I just wasn't used to this…"

"No need to fret…" Guile walked on the other side of her. "You'll get used to it… but come now…" They stopped in front of one of the many huts. "Let's get things put together for you…"

…

…

It was scary how she had gotten used to living in Rishia within only a month, but a few things still pulled at her, Cerinia to put it broadly, but to put it specifically: Her failure to protect her loved ones, her failure to protect the planet, but most of all, having to watch as she was slowly pulled further and further away from the loving arms of her parents and then watch the planet explode before her very eyes. She picked her hands out of the bath and stared at them as the steamy bath water slipped off her palms. She felt all her efforts were for naught and her life slipped out of her hands as easily as the bath water just had. All the images would plague her forever no matter what she did. It made her cry every time she thought of it.

On the other hand, she managed to be more active. After a few days in, her body had the urge to move about and explore as she had on Cerinia, so one morning, on her own she just left the hut and spent the day in the azure wilderness of the planet, it was so strange to her because Cerinia's nature was predominantly green. Every trace of vegetation on this planet was a pure sky blue. She almost completely camouflaged with the surrounding, giving her an unexpected feeling of connection, as if she herself melded with the nature. The environment and exercise helped to clear her mind and focus her thoughts, leaving the recollections of the recent past out of her mind if only for a few moments.

Upon returning that night she was met with two very worried weasels, who she apologized to and explained that she just wanted to explore. Feeling better, she felt she could talk about the tragic incident and met with the elders again. This time she felt more confident and was able to tell the entire story of what happened, including her life before hand, and about her staff and its mysterious power. It felt good to get it all off her chest, but she was unable to finish without tearing up once or twice.

Now, a month later, she was living a comfortable life, or as comfortably as she could without the familiar guidance of her father or the loving arms of her mother. She was still young and would never live the many experiences a young Cerinian was meant to have, but her life moved on. As the last of her kind, she wasn't sure how things would go or how her life would turn out, but she had only one hope. Hope that Rishia would never have to face a similar fate to Cerinia.

_**I wouldn't be so easy going about that…**_

Krystal nearly jumped out of the bath in surprise, quickly lowering herself into the water to cover up her exposed body.

_**Did I startle you?**_

She glanced around, there was nowhere nearby, was the voice in her head? She hadn't used her telepathy since Cerinia was destroyed, so it was quite unexpected.

_Who… who are you? Where are you?_

_**Look behind you.**_Krystal turned completely around and nearly shrieked in surprise.

"Wha? Krystal what's wrong?" She averted her eyes towards the silhouette of Guile behind the hut's back door curtain.

"Um… nothing! I just slipped." She gritted her teeth hoping he'd take that for an answer. She saw the silhouette shrug and move away from the door. She sighed in relief and turned her attention back to what had startled her.

Her staff was floating, hovering in place right in front of her with a strange green glow around it. Krystal had only seen the staff emit blue light, never green.

_My staff… are… you in the staff?_ She spoke through her thoughts.

_**That's right my child, I have been in the staff all along.**_

_But… who are you?_ She repeated herself. The staff floated around her, orbiting her head twice before stopping directly in front of her face.

_**I am the guardian spirit of Cerinia.**_Krystal's eyes grew wide. _**Unfortunately the only remaining spirit of Cerinia… When the planet met its unnatural end, the magical energy within the planet was scattered, destroying all traces of the eternal power within it. The other spirits knew the day was coming and understood there was nothing that could stop it… But then you appeared.**_

Krystal, while startled, found the voice to be relaxing and warming. Even if she wasn't sure to trust this self claimed spirit, everything about it reminded her of Cerinia, as if the green glow from the staff was leftover magical energy from the planet. The hesitation faded due to the familiarity of the magical energy, she leaned back in a more comfortable position to listen.

_**I sense you trust me… I'm surprised you so easily do after your first reaction.**_ The voice pointed out.

_Everything about your energy makes me feel at home. I can feel it in my body, it __**is**__ the energy Cerinia._

_**You are truly as wonderful as the spirits said young Krystal… Now where was I…? Ah yes… your appearance was a blessing from beyond our comprehension… We knew from the moment your destiny was realized that Cerinia had a chance to live on even after its death… the staff you hold is the last spiritual artifact of Cerinia lore, and it is also a separate vessel that I am allowed to exist in… I have one task I must complete before I am allowed to rest… and that is to help you become what you are truly meant to be…**_

It stopped there. Krystal had respectfully listened to the small speech, but the look on her face was one of obvious discomfort.

_Meant to be? I'm a failure… if I'm meant to be a guardian or hero, then how could I not save my family, my friends, or everything I had ever known?_ The staff slowly began to orbit around her head. _What would it be worth to teach me any more?_

_**Krystal… there was absolutely nothing that could've stopped the destruction of Cerinia.**_The words cut through her. _**You may have grown strong… you may possess one of the most powerful magical tools ever crafted… but Cerinia had no means of protecting itself from the onslaught and power of the malicious attackers…**_She hung her head, now confused. She was told she was a guardian, she was told she'd save the planet… was it all a lie?

_**However… Your destiny did not end with Cerinia… it began with it… **_Krystal snapped her head up.

_What? What do you mean?_

_**You need to prove to yourself and prove to the sky and the stars that you can protect not only those within reach, but that you can answer a call for help even from across planets. Krystal… your destiny was never to be the protector of Cerinia… just the be the future of Cerinia as a guardian of the Lylat System…**_ The Lylat system. A group of words that Krystal never believed to actually exist. Cerinia had fables and fairytales of planets and stars far far away from the planet, but she never once believed they actually existed.

_L…Lylat system?_

_**That is right… there are many different planets all among the stars Krystal… Rishia is but one planet that you knew of through seeing it in the sky every day back at home, but there are others, some that extend farther than you can imagine… but with this staff…**_The staff spun in a circle. _**You can travel between the planets, just as you did to survive Cerinia's demise.**_

This was all a lot to take in, but Krystal at least half-understood. So she was still a guardian, but on a much broader scale.

_But… how can I protect a planet if they are attacked by those who destroyed Cerinia? How can I possibly protect others from that?_ The spirit remained silent as if in thought for a few moments.

_**You needn't worry Krystal…**_She folded her ears back. How could this spirit be so sure? _**There is another…**_ Her sudden annoyance with the spirit faded as she listened carefully. _**There is another warrior with a great destiny ahead of him that will bring down the monsters you faced on Cerinia… but that will not be for quite some time...**_ Krystal tilted her head back. Now there was even more to take in. So she wasn't in danger or was she? She was beyond confused. _**But you cannot back down Krystal… Rishia may very well be invaded by the same force… however I do not foresee the destruction of the planet… so to prove to yourself and to every single Cerinian that lived to the bitter end… You must fight, you must be brave, and you must be the one who any living thing can trust to be there in times of need…**_ Her roll seemed to clear up. She was to be a shield for those who cannot protect themselves. It was an easy concept to grasp, Krystal's mind was just being overloaded.

_**Now Krystal… you must be alert and ready… for Rishia will surely be ravaged if you do not act.**_Krystal's ears shot up straight and she forced all the hair out of her eyes to focus of the staff.

_But… I couldn't stop Cerinia from being destroyed…_ She began to quiver. She couldn't stand the thought of watching another planet die.

_**Pay attention Krystal… I know Cerinia's demise ails you… but Rishia is in no danger of being destroyed… it is in danger of being enslaved… **_Krystal's heart settled down upon hearing this, but it was about to pick back up. _**And if you do not act, horrible things will happen…**_ Krystal was half relieved and half afraid. If the same creatures were to attack, she'd be able to fight with no worries, at least of the planet being destroyed. _**I must warn you… I foresee unfavorable circumstances… and no chance of victory…**_ Krystal's ears drooped down

_What…? That's very motivational… are you telling me it's a lost cause?_

_**No… Krystal, I am challenging you to change that vision.**_She wasn't expecting that._** Part of your destiny requires that you overcome fate and succeed against unimaginable odds. You need to oppose the truth, if it seems impossible, MAKE it possible… only then will you have truly found yourself…**_

Krystal looked unsure; it was written all over her face. _But… I don't know if I can…_ The staff suddenly spun around and whacked her on the head. "Ow!"

"Krystal?" Rayner's voice this time. "You okay in there?"

"Yes! Sorry! Slipped again!" She quickly blurted out. _What was that for?_

_**For not believing… Krystal belief in yourself is not only essential for you to succeed, but it is also essential to your life… if you cannot believe in yourself then you're digging your own grave… helping you achieve your true potential is the only purpose I have left… I will not allow it to end because you simply did not believe in yourself…**_ Krystal sighed and stood up in the bath, but quickly dropped back in.

_Um… you can't physically see me can you?_ She suddenly asked.

_**Hm…? No, I can only communicate with the staff and with you telepathically, I have no other physical senses. Why do you ask?**_

_No reason…_ She sighed contently as she stepped out, and snatched the cloth off the rack to dry herself. The staff sat still in mid air silently as she reached for her essentials and fastened them to her body. She turned to the staff and reached out, pulling it towards her with the green glow still shining from it.

_I will try… I have to for the sake of everyone on this planet… and for the sake of my home…_

_**Thank you…**_ The staff finished as the glow disappeared. With a new path in her hand she felt as though she could grasp her life once more. It wouldn't matter what was coming for her, she would use all of her power to fight back. Krystal fastened the staff to her loin cloth and followed the scent of Rishian delicacies into the hut.

-To Be Continued-

* * *

Well, looks like there's only one more chapter to go in the first part of the story "Walking the Path". AFter the next chapter we will be diving into the much MUCH more detailed story of the Lylat wars. (Expect new plot twists, character interactions and storyline changes within the bulk of Starfox 64.)

As usual i will be going back to my other stories for a bit before continuing on this. The other two i'm currently more devoted to are both past their halfway point so things are on their way, if everything goes as planned i should have this story on the way working side by side with my actual fantasy novel through my senior year of college next year... man time flies.

Anyway, as i always say, thank you so much to any and all who read and/or review my work. I greatly appreciate everything you guys have done thus far. Thank you.

Please read and review!

Flashgunner over and out!


	5. Spread Your Wings

I got this done A LOT faster than i thought. My motivation to write for this story is so high because it's my last, i should really transfer some of that to my other works XD.

It has come to my attention (well not really, i've known this for a while.) That a lot of people dislike Krystal and blame her for Starfox going downhill. I seriously cannot see why except for maybe the argument that everyone just wants action and no story. I think Krystal brought an interesting twist to the series. Sure she was never intended to actually be in Starfox (and it saddens me that Rare was fired by nintendo when Adventures was only about 50% complete) But a little romance never hurts, in my opinion. Hell it gives depth to the storyline.

Anyway here is the fifth installment of Follow Your Heart.

story

"talking"

_thinking_

**Emphasis**

_**Telepathy**_

LOUD

(Me talking)

Enjoy!

* * *

Follow Your Heart

Written By: Flashgunner

Part 1: Walking the Path

Ch. 5: Spread Your Wings

The door to Fox's room swung open, its vulpine owner bursting into the dorm with his mouth moving a mile a minute.

"Hey Peppy! I got another pilot so let's get the hell out of…" Fox's mouth froze in place one word short of completing his sentence. Falco raised an eyebrow and looked over Fox's shoulder to see what the vulpine silenced by.

"Ah! Fox, your back…" Peppy acknowledged him, but sitting right beside him was none other than the great Beltino Toad. Peppy tilted his head at Fox's expression, but then laughed. "Oh! Nothing to worry about son, I've let Beltino in on our little plan here."

"Oh?" Fox questioned with his expression.

"Yes, Peppy has told me everything… You see I was good friends with your father, and Peppy and I go way back. I'm more than happy to help and already have two more Arwings near completion." Fox exhaled loudly in relief, but then picked up on something.

"Wait, two?" He questioned. Beltino nodded, but didn't seem completely happy.

"Well, yes. My son wants to go along with you as well… The way Peppy put it to me was that if Star Fox is to be more effective, having a mechanic along for the ride would be a major advantage…"

"Plus, he will be a big help with another portion of our plan." Peppy added.

"But isn't he a mechanic? Has he had any flight training?" Fox quickly questioned. He had nothing against Slippy, the frog had been extremely helpful to him, but he didn't want any dead weight.

"Don't worry about that…" Began Peppy. "He will be joining you in the Arwing simulations…" The hare glanced over his shoulder. "Oh how rude of me. Fox, why don't you introduce me to our new member?" Fox turned around. Falco was leaning against the wall behind him with his head turned away, staring off to nothing.

"This is Falco. He's…" Fox hesitated and sighed. "He's the top pilot of the academy." He said with visible discomfort, earning a smirk from the bird. "You may notice him from when you stopped by the simulation room a little while ago…" Peppy cocked his head to the side.

"And the two of you were seconds from scrapping…" He added. Fox winced, remembering the fight that was barely avoided. "But now you bring him here as a teammate?" Peppy obviously wanted a more detailed explanation, but Fox wasn't sure if Falco's intentions would sit well with the old pilot.

"Well…" Fox was instantly cut off.

"What's the deal gramps? Want me to fly with ya or not?" He rudely addressed Peppy. Fox's mouth fell agape as he turned to the Avian.

"A snappy one eh?" Peppy answered.

"A senile one eh?" Falco mimicked Peppy's gestures and voice. The hare's eyes narrowed and Fox smacked his forehead, dragging his hand down his face.

_Way to go Fox, this isn't going to end well._ The vulpine thought to himself.

"You think your pretty good eh son? Does your squawk match your bite?" Peppy was visibly angry.

"Wanna fight me geezer? I'll give you a second to re-fasten your hip." Falco snapped back. Peppy stared hard at him. Beltino and Fox both edged slightly away, afraid of what might happen. But suddenly, Peppy smiled.

"He's perfect." He stood from his chair and reached a hand out to a stumped Falco. "Welcome to the Starfox team son." Falco slowly reached up and shook his hand as Peppy let out a fit of laughter. Fox and Beltino just stared at Peppy for a moment before Beltino cleared his throat.

"Well then!" He got all their attention. "Let's all go down to my private facility… There's something you have to claim Fox." Fox's ears stood up.

"Claim?" He looked Peppy, who only motioned for him to follow. The vulpine shrugged and followed the group out.

They traversed the compound, heading from the dorms, across the lawn to the center building of the Cornerian academy, and crossing into the Cornerian military barracks. This was the first time Fox and Falco had seen the inside of the military base, it looked similar to the academy buildings, but instead of being littered with posters and motivational content, the walls were either bare or covered with time tables. Pilots and soldiers all around glanced towards the group as they walked. A lot of them had their eyes on Fox, news of the famous "trouble maker" of the academy had spread into the main ranks. Once or twice they were questioned for authorization, but each time Beltino assured them that he had all the proper clearance to escort the group.

They eventually moved out of the buildings and grabbed a small motorized loading cart that was used for transporting pilots around the airfields. Beltino pointed towards a massive building in the distance.

"We're heading for that hangar." He explained.

"WHOA!" Fox yelled out when he saw it. He had seen the colossal building in the past, but never actually knew what it was. "That's a hangar?"

"Indeed… You've seen my main hanger, but this is where I send all of my oversized and "personal" projects." Beltino explained as he twisted the key to start the cart. It sputtered to life and began to put along the tarmac. "My son is in there working on the Arwings off to the side right now." Fox was listening, but his interest had been stolen by the amount of movement on the runways. With the mobilization against Venom, pilots were rushing everywhere and multiple fighters were lining up for take-off. As they drew closer though, Fox began to wonder more and more about what Beltino was keeping in this large piece of architecture that seemed to grow larger as they drew near.

"What's in there?" Fox finally questioned as the cart drew near Beltino's personal holdings.

"Generally this hangar is used to build cruisers for the Cornerian forces… but we haven't had any special orders from them in over a decade, so I allowed your father to make a special request…" Peppy leaned back.

"Before your Father's unfortunate demise, he, Pigma, and I had a debate about the team's future… James thought that in order to triple our efficiency, we needed a new, faster way to rest and refuel." The cart stopped by a small door for entering the hangar. "Pigma was against the idea because he didn't want to spend all of his "hard-earned" money at once… But your father and I agreed that the best way for us to meet this new standard… was to have a base that could move with us." This caught both Fox and Falco's attention as Beltino opened the door. Fox put all the information together and realized what coming to this hangar meant.

"Well come on in!" He beckoned them. Fox, with the eagerness of a young kit, nearly pushed passed Falco to get in the door. Luckily for Fox, the avian only grunted in annoyance before following, quite eager himself. There was a small hallway upon entering, but a door on the right-hand side at the end of it. Fox quickened his pace and turn the corner, his jaw dropping as he slowly scanned the view before him.

"Oh… sweet Jesus…" he mumbled as Falco came up behind him and his eyes went wide.

Before them, supported by hundreds of steel scaffolding and multiple hangar cranes, was an enormous cruiser. From Fox's point of view he figured that it had to be well over a thousand feet in height and width. The main section of the ship had two massive wings on each side forming and X shape if viewed from the front and back, with three giant engines on the back. The front leading up to and including the bridge was shaped like the head of a vulpine minus the ears. Below the bridge, two giant tubular laser cannons were being attached by workers with the use of cranes and heavy pulleys.

"I give you…" Beltino stepped in front of them and motioned towards the ship. "The Great Fox!" He named it with pride. "Come on over here and I'll tell you all about it." He approached an automated cherry-picker with a platform big enough for at least six people. Everyone followed and soon they were all upon the platform, putting along below the ship. "She's by far the largest ship I've ever built… And the first Dreadnaught class vessel I've ever successfully completed." He began. "I've always wanted to build a ship like the old Cornerian legend, the Titan…So I took the chance and went to town with its specifications." He motioned towards the large engines mounted on the back to the ship. "She's equipped with three NTD-FX9 Plasma engines, the most powerful engines produced to this day. Most Cornerian cruisers carry only one of these engines, but because of the size, three was the only option for efficient travel… however the upside is that it can reach cruise speeds close to that of the Arwings if you go full throttle for about five minutes. To add to that the power of the three engines also gives the ship enough power to be compatible with warp gates." Beltino punched in a few buttons on the platform's control panel and it raised high into the air until it was above the engines. He pointed to an opening below the dorsal wing of the ship.

"That is the entrance to the main hangar, where you will store your Arwings; you can take off directly from this hangar or…" He made a downward sweep with his arm, there is a lift that can take the Arwings down into the belly of the ship and assist launch them with firing tracks out the bay opening below the laser cannons…" He reached up and shook the edges of his lab coat with pride. "If my calculations and simulations are correct, if you mix the launch system with the Arwing's sonic launch sequence, you can fire yourselves into space at a speed nearly a hundred times the speed of sound! You'd be upon your enemies before they can blink."

"As long as we don't hit anything…" Fox said quietly, imagining the painful fate a miscalculation would cause.

"No worries there Fox!" Beltino had apparently heard him. "Great Fox is equipped with measuring devices to only launch the fighters into clear pathways… But I've also made modifications to the Arwings computer system to scan everything within a hundred miles in front of it every nano-second during the launch. Should anything block the path, the sonic thrust will be canceled and the emergency turbo breaks will stop you within the next twenty feet." He explained as the platform lowered and made its way around the vessel.

"That's just dandy, I'd love to feel my neck in the morning after that…" Falco mumbled. Fox chuckled and nudged him in the arm.

"You probably won't feel a thing actually, you haven't been in one of these yet, the G-diffusers literally make you feel nothing."

"I'll believe it when I see it." The Avian huffed and turned back to the Great Fox to examine the workers placing panels on the lower wing above them.

The interior is already complete… with enough rooms and facilities to meet your everyday means. Unlike the Titan, which was designed as a heavy assault cruiser for a crew of fifty plus, at least eighty pilots, and their ships, I had much more left over space for larger more comfortable living conditions. Granted, spacious wouldn't be the best word to describe the interior, but if you've ever been onboard the Titan, the Great Fox will feel like an empty gymnasium. The extra space also allowed me to condense a few of the typical dreadnaught designs to make the ship sleeker, more streamlined, slightly smaller, and more fuel efficient."

The platform came to a halt at the laser cannons, and Beltino raised it again until they were at eye level with the weapons.

"These two beauties of modern weapon technology will have you feared throughout the Lylat system. T&B-h9 hyper laser cannons, by far the most powerful weapons ever produced. They may look like ordinary heavy lasers, but their punch comes from the fact that they draw power directly from the engines and focus the burst of power through multiple enhancement lenses… Don't tell General Pepper, but these babies could probably split any of the most advanced Cornerian cruisers in half with a single shot." Peppy whistled in amusement as Beltino continued. "Its main power generator and shield technology are run with a new form of Gravity diffusion that efficiently uses power and fuel…"

"Wow, James never mentioned all of these special add-ons… With all this we could be a small army…" Peppy spoke with awe as Beltino lowered the platform and maneuvered it towards a closed off section, far off in the corner of the hangar.

"To which I have to ask…" Fox suddenly spoke up. They all turned to him to see a nervous expression on his face. "Um… how much did this cost…?" Beltino pulled a small notepad out of his chest pocket and flipped through the pages.

"700.89 million Lylat Credits." Beltino said casually as Fox's voiced squeaked.

"WHAAAAAAT?" He yelled while throwing his arms out, nearly knocking Falco off the platform.

"And that's only the construction; James saved my life once or twice so the power and fuel cells were on me… For a ship this big that cost me another fifty million L.C. at least."

"Please tell me that wasn't a loan… there's no way I could ever pay that off!" In the midst of Fox's frantic yelling, Peppy burst into laughter.

"Hell no my boy! That would drive a stake through our hearts for the rest of our lives. You'd be surprised how much money we earned over the years." Fox was trying to put a coherent sentence together, but Falco spoke up before he could.

"Wait… you guys seriously had seven hundred million L.C. lying around?"

"When you get as much work as we do with the amount of crime in the system, you have a lot of money to spend, heck let's see…" Peppy pushed up his sleeve to reveal his wrist terminal and pressed a few buttons. "Believe it or not we still have about ninety million left over from this purchase…"

"Shit, you guys have it good…" Falco commented while rubbing his head feathers, impressed.

"Hard work does pay off son, literally." Peppy reassured him as Fox took another look at the ship. Since they were further away, he could now see the words "Starfox" being painted above the wings in green with the red Starfox logo being painted on the dorsal wing.

_This is my Father's final gift to me… With it I can make a difference… as well as have a place to call home…_ He smiled and turned his eyes back towards their next destination. _Thanks Dad._

The platform came to a stop in front of a set of large compartments built into the wall.

"These smaller work stations are where the Arwings are currently… we have three done, and the forth should be ready soon…" He pressed a few buttons and four of the shutters opened, revealing three finished Arwings and a fourth with sparks flying from the cockpit. Fox jumped as Falco pushed past him.

"Mind if I…?" Falco tilted his head towards the Arwings.

"Go right ahead… yours is the third." Beltino pointed to the craft one to the right of the unfinished ship. Fox glanced over and saw Peppy head to the first, so he assumed the second was the same one he had already taken for a spin. He got halfway towards his Arwing, but stopped to glace towards Falco. The Avian was looking the ship up and down, even climbing up the ladder and examining the cockpit. Sure this only seemed like a normal examination, but Falco's eyes had changed. He didn't have his narrow eyed scowl strapped to his beak any more. His eyes were wide and lit up with excitement, matching a sly smirk.

_I've never seen this side of Falco before… He obviously has a strong desire to fly… maybe I'll get him to talk about it sometime…_ Fox chuckled. _Like that'll ever happen._ The three had their fill of their Arwings, and were beckoned by Beltino over to the fourth Arwing. Fox and Peppy immediately moved to the frog, but Falco lagged behind a little.

"Slippy! Take a break for a moment and come say hello!" Beltino yelled up to the cockpit. The sparks stopped flying from the cockpit and a round green head popped up over the dashboard with a wide welding mask over the face. Slippy pushed the mask up onto his head and smiled when he saw Fox. He quickly made his way down the latter, replaced his welding mask with his red hat, and waddled up to them.

"Fox! Mr. Hare!" He giddily addressed them, earning a chuckle from Peppy.

"We're gonna be teammates kid, just call me Peppy."

"Ah, okay, sorry Mr. Hare… I mean…" Slippy let his head hang in embarrassment. "Oh boy, sorry…" Peppy glanced at Beltino, smirking while shrugging.

"He'll get it." Beltino assured Peppy with a smile.

"So um…" Slippy lifted his head and looked directly at Fox to avoid eye contact with Peppy. "I heard we had another member. Where is…" Falco finally turned the corner. "AH!" Slippy quickly hid behind Fox.

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me…" Falco's eyes went narrow when he spotted the quivering amphibian. "We're flying with this twerp?" He asked with annoyance. Beltino was about to defend his son, but Fox beat him to the punch.

"Two years ago this "twerp" fixed the training fighter I completely totaled in less than a day, AND assembled an Arwing for me from **scratch** with **spare parts** in a **month**… I'm not trying to denounce your flying skills, but having I can't think of anyone else who would be a better mechanic to handle repairs…" Slippy peeked out from behind Fox at the falcon, whose harsh gaze was still beating down upon the nervous frog. Slippy smiled goofily, hoping Falco would leave him be.

"Feh… fine." He crossed his arms and looked away, suddenly very "interested" in the incomplete Arwing. Fox grinned at Slippy and patted him on the head.

"You guys'll get along in no time." He joked. Peppy smiled at the whole scene.

_The more I watch him, the more he reminds me of James… quick minded and always ready to handle disputes…_ "Well then." Peppy clapped his hands together. "It looks like everything is coming together… Can we get an estimate on when everything will be ready?" He asked Beltino as Fox tried to mostly in vain to get Falco and Slippy to interact.

"Slippy is just welding the panels to the dashboard on this Arwing and it'll be all done. So the Arwings are practically already finished. The laser cannons were the last addition to the Great Fox, other than that the building crew is just fine tuning the systems and making the final checks, tightening screws and what-not. When they finish I'll run a personal crosscheck of all systems and you can be on your way by tomorrow at Noon."

"What about working the ship? Won't you have to run us through it?" Peppy wondered out loud.

"Oh, heh, don't worry about that, we have something that can take you through all of it once you're on board." Beltino's sudden snickering, confused the hare, but Peppy wasn't one to argue with the most renowned scientists on the planet so he left it at that. "Now boys." Beltino approached the new Starfox members. The three froze in the position of Falco pulling Slippy's hat over his face and Fox trying to break them up. Beltino just rolled his eyes and pulled out three access cards. "The plan is to leave tomorrow, so now would be a good time to go and pack your things." He handed a card to each of them. "Go ahead and get a good dinner at the mess hall and bring your belongings back to this hangar. These cards will get you past any security checkpoints, if they give you trouble, tell them they can call me if they need further confirmation." He motioned towards the door they entered the hangar through. "I have a few rooms prepared in the building next to us for you to spend the night in, expect to get up early so we can load up everything into the Great Fox and you can all be situated for launch at Noon. Got all that?" They all nodded. "Good. Now run along."

"Hmph." Falco grunted and stuffed the card into his pocket before turning and heading for the door without another word. Slippy returned to the Arwing to apply the finishing touches. Fox stared at the card in his hand, and then took a long look at the Great Fox.

_I never expected my life to change so drastically so quickly… I always intended to fly like my father someday… but I never thought I'd fly under the name Starfox… at least not so soon…_ He smiled and glanced over at Peppy, who was still conversing with Beltino. _I guess this is fate… _He looked to the ship once more. _My father never got to use this ship... but I'll be his hands, and use it in his place…_ Feeling content, and highly motivated, Fox made his way out of the hangar. Peppy and Beltino were watching him over their shoulders as he left.

"Like father, like son, eh Peppy?" The frog adjusted his glasses.

"I have high hopes for him. James couldn't have left behind a more promising heir to take on his roll."

…

…

"Should've expected dinner to be shit… why did I even bother…" Fox grumbled as he inserted his keycard into the slot beside his door. "Good to know I'll never have to choke that stuff down again…" He continued to talk to himself as he entered his room and instantly went for a large duffle bag sitting in the corner of the room. He forgot to turn on the lights, and was swallowed by darkness before he could reach the bag. "Whoops…" He prodded around until he found the shoulder strap of the bag and went back to turn the lights on, knocking some things over as he did, but he took no notice.

With the lights on he threw the bag onto the bed and began rummaging through his closet and drawers for clothing or anything else he felt necessary to bring. He only owned four shirts and two pairs of jeans besides his cadet uniform, and boxers and socks didn't take up much space, so he had plenty of room left in the bag. He packed his two seasonal jackets, then his toiletries before he forgot about them. With the essentials completed, he began a small search of the room to find anything else he deemed significant or wasn't academy related. He had books and papers everywhere from his flight classes and simulator results that he couldn't care less about, but the last thing he wanted to do was leave anything valuable behind. He threw the closet door completely open and scanned its entirety, spotting a small cardboard box on the shelf above the hangers.

"Oh jeez! I can't believe I almost forgot…" He reached up and gingerly lifted it down from the shelf and placed it on his bed. He pushed aside the flaps of the box and took a long look at the contents before doing anything. "Oh…" He reached in and lifted out a small metallic toy model of an Arwing his father made for him when he was just a little kit. It has small wheels on the bottom so it could be pushed along. Out of pure nostalgic action, Fox set the toy on the bed and nudged it with his finger. It traveled a couple inches before coming to a halt on the cushioned surface. He stared at the toy for another moment and sighed before returning to the box.

There were a couple special achievement ribbons he earned at elementary school events. "Earned" was perhaps a bit of a stretch though; they gave them out to all the kids that participated so that "everyone was a winner". Fox chuckled as he continued to dig through his memories. He found some seashells he picked up on his trip to Zoness, some shiny rocks he must've found at some point and decided to keep, but the major theme that reoccurred with every fragment of memory visited, was his time spent with his father. His mother had died in a car accident when he was too young to remember, so the only family he ever had was James. His father pretty much guided him through life until he could fend for himself, whether or not it was detrimental to his health. His father had made sure that Fox had an enjoyable childhood despite the lack of motherly guidance.

The last thing Fox came upon in the box was a photo. A photo taken the day before Fox arrived at the Cornerian academy. The setting was outside the McCloud apartment that had just been successfully sold, but in front of the building, facing forward were himself at the age of 16 and his father. His father was in his Starfox uniform had his arm around Fox's shoulder and Fox was giving a thumbs-up, with a large, heavy duffle bag, nearly forcing him down.

Fox stared long and hard at the picture. As he soon realized this was the last picture he would ever have of his Father.

He was already swaying towards it, but this photo sealed his choice to bring the box along. He replaced everything into the box and closed the lids. After a few tries he managed to fit the box into his bag and zipped it shut.

_Now to get rid of this damn outfit for good…_ He thought as he looked in his mirror at the cadet uniform. He grabbed the red t-shirt and pair of jeans he had left in his closet and tossed them on the bed as he shed the recruit clothing. After he was comfortably in civilian attire, he pulled an old pair of white sneakers from beneath his bed. They were already tied, Fox was just never in the mood to untie them, and they felt tight enough to him. He slipped them on and moved his foot around inside. _Much more comfortable than those boots…_ With everything in place, Fox heaved a grunt of satisfaction. _I never did like this room._ He joked to himself as he hoisted the bag over his shoulder and stuffed Beltino's access card into his pocket. After a quick check of the time on his wrist terminal, he shut off the lights and opened the door to leave, but…

"Fox?" He halted right before letting his door close behind him.

_Oh… that's right…_ He slowly turned around to see Bill. The greyhound was just passing by, with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his fatigues, but his expression was wrought with confusion as he looked Fox up and down.

"Oh…" He suddenly seemed to catch on. "You found another pilot?" Fox wasn't quite sure how to answer that, he didn't want Bill to feel that he had replaced him so quickly.

"Well… yes…" He stuttered.

"Ah…" Bill turned his body fully towards the vulpine. "You're leaving then?" He continued. Fox felt a lump rise in his throat.

"Yeah… tomorrow at noon." To his surprise Bill smiled.

"Why the long face?" He lightly punched Fox on the shoulder. "You're putting Starfox back together! With your skills and not to mention **the** Peppy Hare, you guys will be famous in no time!" Fox was surprised to say the least, but then he saw where Bill was going. Bill was always one to give Fox positive encouragement and always tried to keep things optimistic.

"I just wish I could bring you along. You wouldn't believe what I went and did when you turned it down." Fox explained with a chuckle.

"Oh? What would that be?" Bill smirked.

"I asked Falco." The instant Fox finished the sentence Bill was lost in an intense fit of laughter.

"YOU DIDN'T!" He yelled out in between laughs. Fox smiled.

"Better bet I did, and guess what? The douche said yes, so I'm taking him off your ass."

"No way!" Bill looked Fox straight in the eye with disbelief, but the vulpine only nodded. "Wow who would've thought huh?"

"Oh man, I wish you could've seen how Peppy messed with his head… looked like he was gonna shed all his feathers on the spot." Fox laughed.

"It's gonna be boring around here without you two." Bill shrugged. "But hey now I'm top dog by default! Worst I'll have to deal with now is keeping Slippy in line." Bill Joked, but Fox winced.

"Um…" Fox's sudden downturn in mood was easily noticed.

"What's up?" Bill questioned.

"Well, Slippy is coming along too…" Fox hadn't realized until now that with this action Bill was going to lose his two best friends in the academy.

"Oh… why is that?" His tone had saddened considerably.

"On site mechanic… He'll keep us in top shape at all times…" Fox sighed. "Look Bill, I'm sorry, I didn't really think about how by doing this would leave you behind…" Fox quickly tried to remedy the situation, but Bill stopped him.

"Fox, if I didn't have all this stuff going for me right now at the academy, I would've accepted your offer in an instant, but I've made commitment and I want to honor my grandfather's legacy by following it." He placed a hand on Fox's shoulder. This is just life man, our paths crossed in the academy, but now it's time to make our own steps… Sometimes paths just don't intersect." He removed his hand from Fox's shoulder and reached it out to offer a handshake, but instead Fox reached out and embraced his friend.

"Bill, you've been like the brother I never had. Even if we go our different ways that'll always be true." He released Bill and smiled. "I always got your back."

"Likewise." Bill nodded. "Keep it classy Fox. I know we'll see each other again sometime."

"You can count on it." Fox gave him a two finger salute and walked past Bill, continuing down the hallway without looking back. Bill watched as his wingman and best friend for the three long years spent at the academy, disappeared down the stairs at the end of the hall.

…

…

The next morning came quickly for Fox, half out of nervousness and half out of eagerness. He stepped out into the hangar with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder, just in time to witness a large moving platform carry and lift the Arwings up to the main bay behind the dorsal fin of the Great Fox. This was the third time he had seen the ship, but it was still an image of complete awe.

"It's crazy huh?" Fox jumped as a voice came from behind him. He turned to see Falco step towards him wearing a black leather jacket and torn jeans. "Can't believe I spent three years in this hellhole just to leave with my rival."

"Heh, you're not the only one." Having an actual conversation with Falco still seemed strange to Fox. The two would've sucker punched each other at any time given the chance only a few days ago.

"Hey, the way I see it, we get to be famous, we get money, and best of all we get to fly ships much sleeker than those shitty-ass Cornerian fighters."

"Ahem, I DESIGNED those "shitty-ass" fighters you know…" The two turned as Beltino approached with Peppy and Slippy in tow. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that."

"Pff" Falco scoffed as Fox let out a chuckle. Peppy stepped forward and walked past Fox and Falco. Slippy walked up as well, but stopped between the vulpine and avian. The hare looked over the finished cruiser before them and glanced up at the Arwings that were now being loaded in. He nodded and turned to face the others.

"Well boys. This is it. Once you step foot on this ship, that's it, there's no going back. You will be members of Starfox; no longer directly affiliated with the Cornerian army… and I doubt you will ever have a chance to live a normal life. If you have any doubt or any regrets I suggest you step back now, because this is your last chance…"

"Oh give me a break old man." Falco shook his head. "I do everything without regrets. That's the only way to live."

"I'm a little nervous… but… I don't just want to be another person in the workshop! I'm all in, all the way." Slippy spoke out with a sudden burst of confidence. Fox looked back and forth at the motley crew he had assembled and ginned.

"I may be following my father's footsteps… but I'm also doing this for myself." With that, the three all took a step towards Peppy, and the hare smiled proudly.

"I guess that seals it then." He turned to the ship. "Let's get settled in our new home." As he finished, Beltino flagged down a worker passing by on a moving platform. The blood hound stopped the cart and let them on. Beltino directed him towards right below the launch port of the cruiser and they disembarked.

"Normally you'll just use your Arwings to enter and exit the ship… But when you dock the ship somewhere you will enter and leave like this…" Beltino produced a small remote with a red and green button on it. He pressed the green button and the sound of whirring machinery could be heard above. They all looked up and saw a platform jut out from the port and lowered down to them on four sturdy steel cables. It touched down softly and Beltino motioned for them to get on. The platform had safety rails on each side, and a small gate to close off the entrance. "This lift will take you on and off the ship… don't worry about a controller; I've put one on each of your wrist terminals that you will find in your rooms…" He paused. "I guess this is it then." Slippy reached out and hugged his father tightly.

"Bye dad…" he said slightly somberly.

"So long son… and wait a while before you call your mother on Aquas, I still haven't told her about all this!" he chuckled. Slippy nodded and stepped on the platform. "Stay on the platform when you reach the top, it will take you all the way through the launch bay and to a walkway. At the end of a walkway is an elevator. Take it to the bridge before anything else, and you will be directed from there."

"By who?" Fox asked.

"Oh, you'll see." He said with a smirk and Slippy failed to conceal a snicker. "Bon voyage gentlemen!" Beltino pressed the red button and the platform lifted off the ground and into the air.

"Are we getting a fifth member? What's this assistance I keep hearing about?" Peppy questioned Slippy. Slippy just smiled.

"Technically, you'll see when we get up there." Peppy took the frogs word for it as the platform reached the port. It slowly slid in and sat down on a small rail. As soon as it clicked in place it shot down the launch port at a high speed, startling them. They entered a fenced off tunnel, to protect the rail from the launch lanes. The lanes were brightly marked by different colored lights down the grey corridor, with multiple blast shielding flaps to disperse plasma engine ejections from the Arwings powerful launch boosters. After a few moments the platform came to a halt and they all stepped off, following a slightly elevated walkway towards the elevator like Beltino had instructed. The elevator arrived and they packed in the small grey cube. Fox examined the buttons as Falco yelled at Slippy for crushing him into the corner. There were four buttons: Exit level, Deck 1, Deck 2, and Deck 3. There were description panels next to each one except for exit level. Deck 1 was labeled: Simulators, gym, target range, locker room, and medical facilities. Deck 2: Crew quarters, lounge, kitchen, bathroom facilities. Deck 3: Bridge, hangar, armory.

"Okay then." Fox hit the Deck 3 button and the door closed, reopening into a hallway that extended both left and right with windows along the opposite wall. There was a color-coded sign with lines heading in different directions. The red bridge line extended to the right, so they followed until they came to a large set of metallic doors. It hissed open horizontally as they approached and they all stepped through, slowing their pace as they entered.

"Wow… this is really something…" Peppy commented, impressed. The bridge had two levels, one slightly elevated higher than the other. The sides leading up to the railings that separated the two different floors were lined with terminals and a couple swivel seats placed along them. There was a large seat in the center with a slim folding computer attached to the right arm. Below the railings on the lower level were two helm terminals facing directly forward towards the large front window that spanned the length of the walls to the railings. The glass was at least a foot thick with an outer cover of hardened, reinforced plastic.

Fox took a few steps towards the railing and rested his hand on the chair in the center.

"Well I'd say we've hit the jackpot." He chuckled. "I just hope this thing isn't too much of a hassle to upkeep…"

"I'll be routinely going over the systems daily. Despite the size of the ship, the designers took into account that there would only be four of us. They tried to make it a little more simplified so we wouldn't need a whole crew to fix a snapped wire."

"That's all just dandy, I'm gonna go put my stuff in my room. Falco turned back to the door.

"Avian identified as Falco Lombardi." Falco squawked in surprise and all of his feathers puffed up as a loud metallic voice sounded right in his face. He jumped back and dropped his bag. Slippy burst into laughter instantly and Fox nearly fell over at the sight of Falco's feathers. "You dropped your bag; do you require assistance with it?" Before him was a large beige robot with a rectangular face, arms, legs, and a body like a person. It was at least seven feet tall and stared forward blankly with its large green visor.

"NO! AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" Falco snapped back at the robot as he scrambled to smooth out his feathers.

"My designation is N.U.S.6.4. Mark 1 model. My directive is to educate the Starfox team on the functions of the Great Fox as well as assist the Starfox team in any way possible pertaining to their work." Slippy walked forward past Falco, who was still keeping his distance from the mechanical man, and patted his hand against the robots arm.

"This is our extra member. His model name is NUS64, but he is also programmed to respond to the name Rob, just to make things easier for us… I built him myself." Slippy puffed out his chest with pride. "He's designed to make things a bit easier for us around the ship! Sure we'll have to do our share of work, but Rob can handle more work than the four of us put together."

"So he's pretty much a house-keeper." Peppy raised an eyebrow. "What did he mean by, "help us pertaining to our work"?" Slippy seemed eager to answer.

"In addition to his upkeep capabilities he is hardwired to the ships main computer, can pilot the ship, has full control of the ships weapons and defense systems, and is pretty good at keeping out records, including Arwing mark count and any financial numbers." Peppy nodded his head in approval. "And if need be I can always easily program a new function into him."

"Yeah well program him to not scare the shit out of me will ya?" Falco edged past Rob and made his way to the door. Slippy thought for a moment as he watched Falco go near the door.

"Ah, that's a better idea, why don't we all put our bags in our rooms, then before we launch, Rob can run us through the ship's functions."

"That sounds good." Fox grabbed his bag and made his way past Rob.

"You've prepared well Slippy my boy." Peppy commented. "I'd expect nothing less from Beltino's son." Slippy blushed.

"Heh, thanks." He looked down and scratched the back of his head as Slippy went to his belongings. The hare bent down and tried to lift his bag, but failed the first attempt.

"Oof! That didn't work." On the second try he got it up and over his shoulder, but now Rob was standing before him.

"It is my understanding that Peppy Hare is of advanced age. Would you care for some assistance?" Rob asked innocently. Slippy froze, eyes wide. Peppy narrowed his gaze at the robot.

"Um… no thanks I'll be fine." He grumbled as he started towards the door. "I see you programmed a sense of humor into him too. …advanced age… my ass…" he continued to mumble as he left the bridge. Slippy sighed and glared at Rob.

"Gee, thanks for that one Rob."

"No task was issued or completed. Your thanks are illogical."

…

…

Fox, Falco, and Peppy stepped out of the lift onto Deck 2, which split into two directions like Deck 3. Also like its upper deck it had a sign with guiding lines, but there were no windows. They all followed the line to the left, Fox and Falco taking care not to inquire as to why Peppy was suddenly grumpy. There were a series of doors, each about nine feet apart. Above the doors were grey name plates, designating which room was for whom. From the beginning to the end, they read Slippy, Peppy, Fox, and Falco.

"They would put me at the end of the hall…" Falco grunted in annoyance as he continued after Fox halted. There was a large square button beside the door that, with one press, opened the door automatically, sliding to the right.

"Seems rather simple…" Fox thought as he reached his hand inside and found the light switch. As he expected, the room was even smaller than his dorm. It was about eight by eight feet with a ten foot ceiling. There was a small three foot wide bed that was placed against the back wall and reached from the left wall to the right. There was a small closet and dresser next to the foot of the bed and shelves next to the head. Lastly there was a small desk and a metal chair in the corner directly to his right with two power outlets beside them. "…very simple…" He continued. He really didn't mind the small living space. It was cozy, and upon sitting on the bed, he found it to be softer than his bed at the academy. "But that looks rather complicated…" His eyes went wide as he spotted a touch screen terminal on the side of the door opposite the light switch. He stood up and lightly presses a finger to it, but nothing happened. _Must not be activated yet…_ He shrugged and turned back to his bag.

He pulled a few things out, and went to his closet to hang up the few shirts he had, but something was already hanging up in the closet. Upon seeing it, the shirts dropped out of his hand to the floor.

"No way…" There hanging up before the flustered fox was a genuine Starfox uniform almost completely identical to the one his father wore. He gingerly lifted the hanger from the closet bar and looked it up and down. The same beige jacket, the same green under suit and pants, even a pair of the white reinforced plastic boots. The only difference from his father was a red scarf. His father always wore a yellow one. He grabbed the edge of the scarf and turned it over, examining it, but he smiled. _No, this is good… I want to be a great pilot like him… but I also want to be Fox not James… I can't spend my life trying to be him…_

He removed his t-shirt and grabbed a light white undershirt from his bag. He slipped it on and began putting on the uniform. Once the green under suit and pants were in place he looked in the mirror on his closet door. It didn't look that much different from the Cornerian flight suits, but he was only halfway done. He pulled out the boots and examined them. There was a small latch on the outer side. He turned this switch and the shin of the boots split forward and backward with a click. He put both of the boots on and pushed them back together as he turned the switch. They were surprisingly comfortable for how snugly they fit. Finally, Fox eagerly reached for the scarf and the jacket. After wrapping the scarf around his neck and letting the rest hang behind him, he slipped the jacket over his arms and onto his body. After some minor adjustments he turned back to the mirror and froze eyes wide. He looked just like his father. Even if he wanted to forge his own path, he would always still be the son of James McCloud, and he definitely had the look. However, Fox smiled.

"Time to honor my family…" He thought as he brushed his hand against the "Fox McCloud" name patch. He was about to continue sorting through his things, but was interrupted by a beeping noise that sounded three times accompanied by a blinking red light in his peripheral vision.

He turned to see a new wrist device sitting on his desk. It was much smaller and sleeker than the bulky apparatus issued by the Cornerian army currently occupying his arm. _This won't work anyway once we're off the planet…_ He removed his old device and picked up the new one. It was silver instead of green, with a screen that was wider but not as tall. The red light kept blinking even after he put it on, so he pressed the only button on the device, a red circular button beside the screen. Fox yelped in surprise as panel shifted out over his hand and a small view screen jutted out of the top. After carefully examining the small keyboard he noticed the red light had stopped but a small button with the icon of a face had light up. Fox pressed it and the view screen came to life, showing Slippy.

"Okay good it's working, what took you so long to pick up?" The frog blabbed through the communicator. Fox folded his ears back, looking sternly at the frog.

"An instruction booklet might've helped a little."

"Oh there wasn't one by your device?" He asked, to which Fox only shook his head.

"Ah… heh heh… I had a feeling I forgot one…" Suddenly a blue feathered hand pressed down on his head. "HEY!"

"Quit flirtin' and tell him to get his ass up here!" Fox picked out Falco's tone easily.

"Okay okay! Jeez…" Slippy turned back to Fox. "What a jerk… anyway, everyone else is up here Fox, we're waiting on you." He explained.

"Will do." Fox answered as he hit the face button again. He was ready to move right after, but the screen and keys were still protruding from the device. Fox guessed by pressing the red button again and the extra pieces retracted. Satisfied, he left the room and headed down the hall. As he stood by the lift, awaiting its arrival, he glanced down the rest of the hall opposite of the crew quarters. He could see the doors labeled lounge; he had to back up to the wall to see the door to the kitchen. These two took up most of the deck on that side of the elevator, much like how the bathroom occupied the area across from their rooms. But then Fox noticed one more door that wasn't labeled. The lift had arrived and the door was open, but Fox quickly trotted over to the last door. He pressed the button to open it, and was surprised when it was just another room.

_A spare room? Oh… probably a guest room…_ A little disappointed by the lack of a cool find he rushed back to the elevator before it could close without him.

…

…

"Wellllll, look who decided to show up." Falco, still in his casual clothing, complained as Fox ran onto the bridge. "And why was I the only one that didn't find a snazzy set of clothes?" He complained as he looked the vulpine up and down.

"It was in my closet, it's not my fault you're unobservant." Fox smirked.

"Ah, I see you found your uniform…" Peppy commented before Falco could retort.

"Heh… yeah when I saw it I couldn't resist putting it on." Fox chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"All you need is some sunglasses and I swear I'd be looking at your father…"

"Is everybody here?" Slippy walked up from the lower level of the bridge wearing his uniform of a blue under suit and beige jacket. They all nodded as he took count of all three. "Okay, we'll start over here with Rob…"

The team got a crash course on the layout, functions, controls, and special details of the ship from Rob. Fox found it really complicated, but he was sure he would learn it all in time. Falco didn't pay attention to a single bit, but attracted a humorous moment where Rob asked him if he was asleep. After a half-hour of prepping and explanations, Rob finished rambling and "awaited further orders".

"Well that was a lot to take in, but I think I got it…" Peppy scratched behind one of his ears.

"Are we all good then? Is it time to launch?" Fox asked as he almost sat in the chair in the center, but stopped halfway, he didn't want to send any messages by sitting in the captain's seat.

"That'll do it Fox… we're all ready to go." Slippy nodded.

"Hold on a sec." All eyes went to Falco, who finally detached himself from the wall on the opposite end of the bridge. He walked up near fox and rested his hand on the center seat. "So how's this joint going to operate?"

"You would know if you listened to Rob, it's called paying attention." Slippy glared at the falcon.

"No it's called you're a spazz and that's totally not what I'm talking about." Falco spat back at Slippy.

"You mean rules or…?" Fox tried to pick out what Falco wanted.

"Like a leader, are we following the old-timer's orders? Or is it, to each their own?" He sounded much more interested in the second.

"Oh!" Fox caught on. "After hearing about the way Arwings operate as a group, I don't think making it a free for all would be ineffective. In that case having someone in charge would probably be better." Fox had already thought about this beforehand, Falco didn't seem too amused, but Fox didn't expect him to be. He made a hand motion towards Peppy, who was leaning back in one of the side chairs. "And obviously our leader…"

"Will be Fox." Fox and Falco both stared wide eyed at the old Hare. "What?" Peppy quizzically shifted his eyes between the two.

"Oh HELL no!" Falco stormed right past the frozen vulpine and right into Peppy's face. "I coulda taken following orders from you, shit I've been taking orders from old farts for the past three years, but now you're asking me to take lip from this prick? He's younger than me!" Falco spat every word loudly into Peppy's face, but the hare remained stoic and just narrowed his eyes as the avian finished ranting.

"Allow me to drill a few details into that thick head of yours." Peppy's tone had darkened dramatically, to the point where even Falco felt intimidated. "For one… My reason for choosing Fox is because this team belonged to his father… it's only fair that he gets a chance to pick up where he left off. Secondly: The last time I checked… you're a freeloader. Take a look around you. You are the only person here that hasn't put in any form of work towards our goal of rebuilding this team. Whether or not you are an amazing pilot has yet to be proved in an Arwing… at this point, your only purpose is to fill the roster." This was a sight never seen before. Peppy being something other than the kind wise man they all knew him for, and Falco shrinking away. "When it comes down to it, if Fox didn't pull you over here, you'd still be down at the Cornerian base taking orders like another military drone… Besides, if Fox ends up being just as good a leader as his father, you'll be glad you were brought along… so how about you untie the knot in your britches and sit down." Slippy watched in awe as Falco backed away from the veteran pilot and sat in one of the side chairs with his arms crossed like a pouting child. "Now then…"

"HOLD ON A SECOND!" Fox blurted out having finally regained his breath. "Peppy this is too much…"

"Come now Fox, you underestimate yourself." Peppy's expression had regained its gentleness.

"I think you may be **overestimating** me… I've had no experience leading… I wasn't even a squad leader in training…" Fox slumped against the center chair. Peppy chuckled and stood from his seat, walking towards the vulpine.

"Being a leader is more than issuing orders…" He rested a hand on Fox's shoulder. "What really counts is giving an example to follow… If you're crazy enough to do the unthinkable… others will be more willing to do the same." He grinned. "You proved plenty when you rushed out to aid me in a ship you didn't know how to fly." Fox still didn't look up, but Peppy didn't give in. "Look fox. If you don't want to, I won't force you… all I ask is you give it a shot. You've inherited this ship, and this team, I wouldn't want you to waste the opportunity…" He released his hand from Fox's shoulder. "Just remember to never give up… and to always trust your instincts… If you can do that, you will be a great leader." Fox's ears perked up. He knew that saying well. It was pretty much the saying his father lived by. He smiled and looked up.

"You're right Peppy… I'll give it a shot." Peppy nodded in return. Just then a beeping noise sounded from Rob.

"I have received clearance to depart." Fox looked around at his new teammates. Slippy smiled back at him eagerly, Peppy gave him a reassuring nod, and Falco remained in the back sulking, but Fox knew how eager the avian was to leave.

"Rob, send word to open the hanger bay… Starfox is ready to launch!" Fox clenched his fist in excitement.

"Affirmative." Rob turned to his terminal and pressed a few buttons. The team moved to the bridge window (except for Falco) and watched as machinery mounted on the ceiling of the massive hangar began to turn and clank. Slowly the ceiling began to part slowly; folding into itself one portion at a time until the sun began to shine through, shedding light on the polished surface the dreadnaught vessel. "Hangar bay open."

"Let's hit the system!" Fox yelled out.

"Activating lower thrusters." Rob droned on as he continued to operate the ship. The mechanical man worked quickly and efficiently as the others felt the ship buckle slightly and lift off of its scaffolding supports. The view of the hangar got lower and lower until the rest of the Cornerian airbase came into view. "Hangar bays clear. Activating main engines." Rob recited. Fox took one last long look at the Cornerian academy. To his surprise, Falco walked up beside him and did the same.

Neither had ever expected their lives to take such a sudden turn, but that's the tricky thing about fate. Fate isn't something predictable. Like life, fate just happens, and when it happens, you just have to go along with it, or at times against it. It may lead you to glory, or it may lead you to ruin, but you'll never know unless you take it head on.

"Engines firing." As Rob said these words there was a loud booming noise followed by a heavy lurch forward. The three gigantic engines behind the Great Fox were online and pushing the massive ship into the sky.

Back down at the base, General Pepper nearly fell out of his seat.

"What in the blazes was that?" He cried out as he retrieved his fallen hat from his desk. Then he noticed a moving object reflecting on the shiny surface of his wooden desk and turned around to the large windows behind him. His eyes locked on the large ship leaving Beltino's hangar. "What…? Does that say… Starfox? What would…" His eyes widened. "No… Fox wouldn't… unless Peppy…" He quickly reached for the communicator on his desk to call up the academy warden, but he was far too late to stop anything. The Great Fox was already on its way.

In the courtyard of the academy, Bill Grey had also heard the blast of heavy plasma engines, tipping his sunglasses up to view the sky along with other cadets who came pouring out of buildings to see what the commotion was. When the Great Fox came into view a large commotion started in the gathering cadets, mainly about the sheer size of the ship, the sudden mystery departure, and the name "Starfox" painted on the side. But Bill only smiled.

"Heh… See ya round Fox." He said to himself as he let his sunglasses fall back onto his face and left the swarming cadets as they admired the sky and the Great Fox disappeared through the clouds.

…

…

…

…

"Hm… I wonder where she could've gone…" Guile brushed aside the blue vegetation hanging in his path as he walked. "She's probably be easier to find if she didn't blend in with everything…" He mumbled. Krystal had left a few hours ago without a word, but Rayner had mentioned her walking into the jungle in the direction he was now traversing, but there was no trace of her path. _If I don't find her she's going to miss dinner, and if I come back without her Rayner will call me lazy… I just can't catch a break…_ He was about to give up, because with the sun going down it would be even harder to find her shortly, but then something caught his eye. There was a glow coming from behind a large rock a few paces away. _Bingo._ Guile had gotten used to Krystal's strange abilities by now, and there was nothing known on Rishia that could do that. He approached the rock, which was a foot taller than he, and slowly made his way around it. He peeked past the edge where the glow began and laid eyes on quite a spectacle. Krystal was sitting, legs folded on the ground with her hands clasped together in her lap. An intense blue glow was emanating from her body, the necklace around her neck as well as multiple strands of her hair were slightly hovering. Her staff was floating in front of her releasing a similar light. Guile had never seen such an intense display of mysterious power from her before, so he just stood there to observe.

"Yes, Guile?" The young vixen said his name merely moments after he had stepped out. The Weasel flinched and stepped backwards onto a sharp stone. He yelped and fell over, clutching his foot. The glow faded and the staff lowered gently to the ground. She opened her eyes and giggled at the sight of the weasel rolling on the ground. "I'm telepathic remember? It's easy to sense someone coming." Guile sat up and began waving a hand over his foot as if it would ease the pain.

"Next time say something before I'm two feet away…" He complained while examining his foot.

"Rayner is preparing dinner? Perfect, I'm almost done…" She said before Guile could even begin explaining why he was there. He shrugged and stood up, getting over the miniscule pain cause by the sharp rock. He watched as Krystal picked up the staff, extended it, and stuck it into the ground.

"So um… would you mind if I asked what you are doing?" The weasel had been curious towards her random disappearances for a while. Much more so than his partner, Rayner, who always played it off as her taking time for herself. Before she answered Krystal fell forward onto her hands and began doing push-ups.

"Getting exercise, tuning my senses to the staff… I need to stay in shape you know; I was a warrior on my planet." She had gotten used to referring to Cerinia when explaining things. She would never forget what happened to her home, but she knew it wouldn't help her to dwell. She tucked her legs in and stood up, leaping to a tree branch about eleven feet above her and started doing pull-ups.

"I kinda figured that actually… you look stronger than any of the men on Rishia." He referred to her toned physique as she pulled herself onto the branch and sat down on it. "Didn't you say your home was a planet of peace though?" Krystal sighed.

"Yes, it was… there were no need for warriors even though I could name a few that would've made fine ones…" She thought back to Tenassis and even Konrad the "master hunter". "But mostly we lived without conflict."

"Then how did you come about?" Guile leaned back against the rock.

"It's a long story… but to make it simple, the children of my planet have their futures read at the age of nine to determine their life focus… my future could not be read and apparently it connected to some old prophecy about a child destine to protect worlds. So they gave me the staff and trained me to become what you see now…" She jumped down and kicked the staff from the ground as she landed, in one swift motion she grasped it and thrust it towards Guile, stopping an inch from his face. He froze solid as the golden metal tip of the staff slowly reached the last inch forward and tapped him on the head. He exhaled and gasped for air.

"Jeez, don't ever do that to me again!" He said with a slight chuckle. Krystal smiled and rested the staff on her shoulder. "So, what can the staff do?" He eyed it curiously.

"Well, lots of things… I already showed you the fire, let's see…" Krystal held the staff in front and jammed it into the ground. She hopped into the air over it and swung her body around so her legs were in the air. A burst of energy flared from beneath the staff and it propelled from the ground flinging itself and Krystal into the air. She landed on top of the rock and crouched, looking down at Guile. "It can do that…" She clenched it again and this time jammed it into the rock. She held both hands in the main shaft of the weapon and concentrated. The top jewel began to glow and a wave of blue energy fired down the staff and into the rock. The rock jostled violently and shattered into little pieces, sending a few bigger chunks skyward. Krystal landed on the ground, twirled the staff around stopping it beside her. "It can do that too." She added, but Guile was too busy freaking out about the rock chunks that were about to rain down. Krystal held her staff in the air and a bright blue light shone from the head jewel. A dome of blue light surrounded them and the rocks bounced off of it, successfully shielding them. "And that." She rested the staff over her shoulder again and smiled. Guile laughed.

"You sure have a dangerous way of demonstrating!" He earned a giggle.

"I couldn't help it." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Well, one thing's for sure… If we ever have a conflict on Rishia, I would hate to be on the side you're not!" He laughed this off, but Krystal didn't budge. She hadn't mentioned what the Guardian spirit had revealed to her a few days back, and she was still unsure if she should or not. She didn't want them to be caught off guard, but she didn't want to cause panic. "Oh shoot, Rayner's probably wondering where we are… Come on." He beckoned her to follow, and she quickly complied to shake off any possible suspicion from her sudden silence.

…

…

Krystal had forgotten all about her worries once she smelled the scent of Rayner's cooking. The three enjoyed a nice meal of fish and vegetable stew. Krystal had become quite fond of the food on the planet. Cerinian meals were primarily the same almost every night with little variety. Usually some form of meat, typically from the giant bores that populated the flatlands along with fruits, vegetables, and grains gathered from her father's farmland. During her time on Rishia she couldn't remember having the same meal twice. The Rishians had a fine skill in cooking; putting together combinations she had never seen before, adding spices to food familiar to her, and all around surprising her with something daily. And it **always** tasted delicious.

Krystal ate heartily, satisfying the hunger sparked by her workout. After a good stretch and a yawn she walked over to the bed prepared for her opposite of the front door, the bed was made of a strange fluffy yet firmly packed material the weasels called trint, soft substance pulled from a large tree found across Rishia called Trintens. It wasn't as comfortable as her old bed, but it was an interesting substance that stayed together without any sort of bed frame.

The huts themselves were spacious, but there was only one room. While the lack of privacy was evident, Krystal felt no need for it. It wasn't like she had any personal belongings besides her staff and her Cerinian garments. Guile and Rayner cleaned up the eating area, politely turning down Krystal's request to help them. With nothing else to do and the sun having set, Krystal climbed onto her mattress and curled up with a long yawn. After a few minutes Guile and Rayner doused the fire and the torches before following Krystal's example.

…

…

Krystal awoke with a start, sitting up in her bed quickly with some unexplained chill running down her spine. A dim light was peeking through the window curtains and door tarp. It was morning, but why did she wake up so suddenly? She didn't have a nightmare, but her heart was beating furiously and she could feel sweat upon her fur. Her hands prodded around beside her until it found her staff, clutching it tightly as if it would alleviate whatever was ailing her. She stood up from her bed and tried to pinpoint what was causing the sudden panic. But then her ears pointed straight up and her fur from her head to her tail stood on end. She had felt this feeling before barely more than a month ago, and as before, she began hearing things in her head.

"No… no…" She put her hands to her forehead, feeling slightly dizzy. "No not this…" She stumbled but kept her feet. "Not again!" She yelled, waking Guile and Rayner from their slumber. Guile immediately jumped from his bed and rushed to Krystal.

"Krystal…? Krystal, what's wrong?" He knelt down as the young Cerinian fell to her knees with her hands clutching her head.

"What's going on?" Rayner asked as he made his way over. Between her trembles, Krystal mumbled something, but neither of the weasels could make it out.

"What…? Krystal speak up! What's the matter?" Guile was getting very worried. Then Krystal spoke louder.

"Pain… Screams of pain…"

There was suddenly a bright flash and the front wall of the hut was ripped away. The three were sent into the opposite wall as the remainder of the hut collapsed upon them.

"AH! WHAT THE DEVIL…?" Rayner yelled out as he frantically pushed fallen debris from his hut off of him. "Oh my goodness…" Guile and Krystal dug themselves out as well. The two weasels couldn't comprehend what they were seeing, but the site made Krystal stiffen to the point where her shriek escaped her mouth as just a quiet, hopeless wail.

The entire village was on fire, Rishians running and screaming everywhere, but there were creatures; strange creatures of brown fur or green flesh, clad in odd outfits and holding odd tools that fired light.

"What is going on?" Guile panicked, trying to free himself, but Krystal remained still. It was them. It was the creatures that invaded her planet. Images of the death and destruction on her home planet flooded into her head. She watched red bolts of light strike Rishians down, many of them being gathered and forced along. She looked up into the sky through the small clearings in the jungle canopy and saw the black shapes in the sky. It was just like Cerinia, it was happening all over again.

At the sight of what the creatures' weapons could do, Guile and Rayner stiffened when they were approached by one of the bulky, brown furred species.

"We got more over here." Krystal understood him clearly from when her staff taught her the language before, but the weasels couldn't understand a word. "Get 'em out of there and throw them with the others." Two more approached, both of the skinnier, green skinned race.

"Eh?" The larger one eyed Krystal. "What's this?" He approached her. Krystal felt her heart race even faster than it already was. "Whoa whoa wait a minute… is this a Cerinian?" The other two turned to Krystal upon hearing.

"What?"

"No way, I thought we vaporized that shit hole!" Krystal remained still as they conversed.

"Well I guess we're in luck! Andross was very eager for a test subject from that planet. We may have failed him there, but if we bring this one back to him we could get promoted!" The larger one smiled sinisterly. "C'mere you little shit, you're my ticket to a better job!" Krystal didn't budge until the creature's hand was an instant from touching her.

"NOOOO!" She thrust forward and shoved the invader back. He wasn't expecting such power from the small vixen and he tumbled back onto his rear. Krystal pulled herself from the debris and frantically looked back and forth for her staff.

"ARGH! LITTLE BITCH!" The creature stood up and took aim with his weapon. Krystal saw her staff sticking out from the fallen house and dove for it. A bolt of red light struck where she had previously been, but she didn't falter. Once she had her staff firmly in her grip she took off towards the jungle, leaving Guile and Rayner behind. "Dammit! Take these two to the rest, I'm gonna beat this little prick to a pulp!" the larger one growled as the bolted after Krystal. Krystal weaved and ducked around branches and hanging leaves, moving as quickly as she could to get away. She could feel the mind of the invader chasing her; it was full of rage and violent intentions. At her quickened pace, she ran out of breath quickly and came to a halt near a large Trinten tree and hid herself behind it. She whimpered as she gasped for breath, her heart still beating at the speed of sound.

_**What are you doing?**_She suddenly heard in her head. The faint green glow shone from her staff as it had before. _**Why are you running?**_ The guardian spirit questioned her. Krystal squeezed the staff to her body, trying to conceal the light it created. _**KRYSTAL!**_ She flinched and tears began dripping from her eyes.

_I can't..._ She finally responded. _I JUST CAN'T!_ She hugged the staff tighter. _Even if I try... I can't stop them all. It's no different from Cerinia!_ She shivered.

_**Krystal what happened to you? Where did all your confidence go?**_

_I just..._

_**You just nothing Krystal! You can easily take down this abomination on your trail...**_

_It won't matter if I subdue just one..._

_**BUT IT WILL IF YOU GO BACK AND PROTECT THE RISHIANS!**_The spirit was obviously angry, not out of annoyance, but out of sheer disbelief that Krystal would suddenly second-guess herself. Krystal yelped quietly when she heard the sound of footsteps upon the twigs and plants on the jungle floor. The invader was approaching. Krystal's reaction was to only curl tighter into a ball. _**Krystal...**_ the spirit's tone lightened.

_There's no point... you said it yourself that the odds would be impossible... why should I even try if all I've ever done is fail?_

_**Krystal, the only person you're failing right now is yourself.**_Krystal opened her eyes and stared at the staff. _**Did you forget why the Elder's trained you? Did you forget why you were destined to survive? The people of your planet were doomed from the very beginning, no amount of training and no amount of ability on your part could've prevented that... You were chosen as the one who would carry on and honor the Cerinian people even after their untimely demise... Do you think crouching behind a tree when you may be able to save even one life is honoring your people?**_ Krystal shut her eyes. _**Krystal, if you won't do it for yourself, at least do it for your people, your friends, and your family...**_Krystal clutched the staff tightly. The invader was right behind her tree.

"Heh... shouldn't have run in a straight line..." He sneered while pressing something on his head-gear to make a red visor retract. "Backwater species... can't even comprehend a simple scanner. Suddenly Krystal's staff burst through the tree and struck the stocky thug right in the gut. He grunted loudly, releasing all the air out of his lungs and fell back. The staff was pulled back through the tree and Krystal rolled around it. The invader struggle to sit up, and was struck below the chin, sending him into the air and landing face first in the dirt behind. As he landed Krystal dashed forward and swung with all her might downward, striking him twice upon the chest. He howled in pain as she stood over him, pointing her staff at his throat. "Ah... Ah...!" He sputtered as he looked to his side and reached for his weapon. Krystal slammed her foot down hard upon his arm, causing the creature to roar once more. He looked back up at her in sheer horror as she wound up again. But she didn't kill him. She struck him on the head and knocked him out.

"Hmph." She grunted as she stepped away, stabbing the strange weapon with the butt of her staff to break it in two.

_You're right... I can't just hide... But I won't only do it for those I've lost...I WILL do it for myself as well..._

_**That's the Krystal I know.**_ The spirit spoke with a relieved tone. Krystal removed her staff from the ground and took off back towards the village.

...

...

At the village, the two green invaders pulled Guile and Rayner over to the debris of the longhouse and threw them into a group of twenty Rishian's that made up the villages entire population. The two weasels huddled up with the rest of their kin, trembling at the sight of the invaders surrounding them. Guile looked to the elders Zaric and Larsh in hopes of some sort of guidance, but even they were paralyzed by fear.

"What's taking Roy so long? If it were me I'd have the little vixen by the neck by now." They began conversing. The bushes nearby rustled lightly, but they took no notice. Krystal was hiding off to the side, waiting for an opportunity to strike. There were ten of them. Not favorable odds, but if she could catch them off guard and then use the jungle to her advantage she could pull it off.

"It's not like we're going anywhere…" They continued. "I hear we're turning this place into an outpost. A rest and refuel station for the main force."

"What? Then why aren't we killing these useless rats?"

"They look more like weasels to me... Anyway, we're gonna have them do manual labor, carry out shit and what not. This wouldn't be much of a rest stop if we have to do all the work." Krystal listened in and the news somewhat relieved her. They're main intention was not to kill the Rishians nor remove them from the planet, and even better they would be on the planet for a while. Krystal's confidence soared. The situation wasn't half as bad as Cerinia. She knew that there was a high probability that the Rishians could come to harm, but at least the planet would still be there for them should she succeed.

_Watch me... Mother... Father... Niomi... Zannin... and all those who live on within me... I will make you all proud!_ She extended her staff and aimed it at one of the two conversing, specifically the one facing her way. A ball of blue fire burst from the end of the staff, zipping over the shoulder of the invader with his back turned, and exploding in the face of his comrade.

"WHAT THE HELL?" The other yelled as his friend fell to the ground wailing and clutching his face. He grabbed his weapon as did the others and all pointed them towards the trajectory of the fireball. The weasels all looked up in surprise, especially Guile and Rayner, who recognized the magic. "Whatever you are, come out!" the invader closest bellowed, but Krystal was no longer there. She looked down upon them from the overhang of a nearby tree.

_I they move away from the Rishians I might be able to take out five of them... but then..._

"Up there!" Her eyes shot open and she darted across the branches of nearby tree's as her branch got torn apart by weapon fire.

_How did they know?_ She hid among more branches and looked closely at them. They had all put something red over their eyes. _They must be using whatever those eyepieces are to track me..._ She thought. Indeed she was right. The invaders had scanners to track heat signatures. She jumped down from the branches and began circling the village clearing as red bolts of light again pelted her position. _That's the only explanation... if I can disable those I can use the jungle to my advantage..._ Krystal turned inward and sped up towards them as fast as she could. Not all of them reacted instantly. Two of them turned and fired, but she easily deflected their attempts with her staff. She darted back and forth to throw off their aim as she slowly approached.

"Get her! Get her dammit!" The creatures were relying too much on their technology, which seemed to have a slight delay on picking up Krystal's location. Before they could pinpoint her, she was among them. With swift and quick motions she stabbed and swiped at the apparatuses they wore on their heads, cracking them or shattering them. Without using strong motions she was able to maintain her quick footwork and disabled six of them before dashing behind some debris. The remaining four with visors charged towards her position as the other tried to clear the broken pieces from their face.

_Four of them..._ She though as she concentrated on her staff, the usual ball of blue flame appearing at the end. She focused her mind and manually split the fireball into four equal parts. Sensing her attackers to be nearly upon her, she stood up from her over and swept her staff in a horizontal motion towards them. The four miniature fireballs shot out in a spread, each one striking their red eye covers. _Yes!_ She thought as she took off back into the jungle.

"Dammit! She destroyed all the scanners!" One of the larger brown creatures cursed as he tore off his head set and threw it to the ground.

"What the hell are we dealing with man? Some pre-teen vixen is kicking our ass!" Another yelled out.

"Focus! She's just a bit tricky is all… You two!" He pointed to two of the men. "Keep an eye on the Weasels, the rest of us are going after her!" Guile and Rayner watched as the group split and the force followed Krystal into the jungle.

_Good luck Krystal… _They both thought.

…

Krystal crouched behind a large rock and sat down against it, panting. She was confident she could take them on easily now, but she had to watch herself. _I somehow managed to escape that encounter without a scratch… but I need to be wary of my stamina… I can't spend too much energy or they'll wear me out…_ She caught her breath and sighed. She knew she had only a little time. She purposely didn't move too far into the jungle because she wanted them to find her.

"How the hell are we gonna find her? We have no scanner and she blends in with the god damn planet!" Her ears stood up and she peeked around the rock. Sure enough, they were on her trail, but they hadn't dispersed as she hoped. She jumped on top of the rock and up to a nearby branch as quietly as she could, but it didn't come without a slight rustle. In an instant all weapons were pointed towards her, but she froze.

"Shit… she could be anywhere!" One of them complained as they moved the weapon away. Krystal breathed a brief sigh of relief.

_Now come on… walk right below me…_ She waited for them to reach the rock. _NOW!_ She leapt down, channeling energy through the staff as she stuck its end into the rock. The energy traveled down the staff and into the boulder, shattering it into jagged pieces flying wildly. The invaders grunted and groaned in pain as the rocks pelted them. She quickly located the closest two and with a mighty swing to the face, she knocked the first one out cold, bouncing the staff off his face and ramming the other in the stomach, knocking all the air out of him, leaving him to fall motionless.

"Shoot her! SHOOT HER!" One of them barked, but Krystal already dove back into the jungle, using her fur as natural camouflage among the blue vegetation.

_Six left…_ She thought as she dove into a bush. The remaining creatures rushed past her, and she stuck the staff out to trip the one in back, quickly giving him a heavy blow to the back of his head and pulled him into the bush. The others turned around and frantically looked to and fro.

"Where did Crush go?" One of them said in a hysterical sounding voice. The large creature in front made a hand motion and a smaller invader jumped into a nearby bush.

_Four left…_ Krystal circled around them and jumped out from behind, ramming the two other green creatures in the back, moving her staff up to neck level as they fell, crushing against the backs of their heads as they hit the dirt. Krystal felt untouchable, and eagerly went for the large creature who was left alone. _Wait… that's only… three?_ Before she could attack the flustered invader, the one missing popped up from a bush no more than a foot away and fired his weapon. The red light struck her right shoulder directly. The yelped painfully and fell to her side, dropping the staff as she did. As she skidded to a stop she cringed and trembled in pain, her hand covering a darkened spot on her fur that was burnt to the skin. This was the second time she had been struck by the odd weapons these creatures carried, but this was almost point blank and clearly more powerful than the attacks she endured on Cerinia; it hurt, **a lot**. "Ahhh AAAH!" She cried out as the pain tugged at her nerves.

"Heh… Not so tough now are ya?" The large invader dropped his weapon, reached down, and grabbed her by the neck. She yelped again as his large hand brushed against the burn, but began struggling as he lifted her into the air. "No more jumping around you little shit… you owe me six men and ten scanners…" He pulled back his free arm and punched her square in the jaw. She flew from his grip and tumbled to the ground. "I ain't gonna kill ya, but I'll make sure you pay for the setbacks… He cracked his knuckles as he approached her again." Krystal trembled as she tried to push herself up. Now in addition to her arm, her jaw hurt like crazy and she felt blood trickle past her mouth from her nose. She could sense the invader approaching and could feel the malice in his heart, but this didn't scare her. So this was the first time she was struck back, it hurt, but it wasn't enough to destroy her spirit, if anything it was a humbling experience.

"Heh… you're gonna wish you just killed me then." She spoke. The creature's eyes opened wide as she spoke in his language. From her position on the ground she rolled towards him, and swiped her leg into his ankles. His legs were forced out from under him, and he fell right towards her. Krystal turned around, wound up her fist and delivered a powerful uppercut to his chin. He flew back in the other direction and went headfirst into a tree, falling limply to the ground. Without hesitation, Krystal dove for her staff as a red bolt of light struck her first position. She grabbed it, extended it and began deflecting weapon fire from the remaining creature. He was backing up desperately. After she had her fill of deflecting the light, she spun around and fired two shots of blue fire, one low and one high. Both struck home, and sent the final one to the ground.

She stood still for a few moments, breathing heavily. After a deep breath and a long sigh, she jammed her staff into the ground and supported herself on it. _I… did it…_ She thought as she gasped for air. Her right hand began to tingle a little. "Ow!" She cried out as she grabbed her knuckles. _Jeez, he had a really hard chin…_ She shook her hand out. _Now to save the villagers and find them shelter before any of these guys come around…_ She knew she had two more to deal with, but they wouldn't be expecting her. Krystal walked back towards the village at a slow pace to conserve the energy she had left.

…

Back at the village the two invaders continued to watch the Rishians with a close eye. None of them dared to move after seeing what the weapons could do.

_Krystal's been out there for a while… I hope they didn't kill her…_ Guile thought to himself. As if on cue, a ball of fire zipped through the air and exploded in the face of one of the creatures. The other shrieked and held out his weapon, pointing it in every direction, except for above him. Krystal leapt from a high branch and slammed her staff down upon his head. The invader fell to the ground and remained still.

Krystal tried to land gracefully, but she was worn out and stumbled back into the group of Rishians. They cheered as they caught her and helped her get to her feet.

"Krystal! You're alright!" Rayner exclaimed and she bent over, resting her hands on her knees in exhaustion. "Did you get away?"

"I knocked them all out… we need to find a safe place to hide for a while…" She choked out between breaths.

"Hold on…" Guile retrieved some white strands of cloth from a pile of debris nearby and held it towards Krystal. "Let's get that covered." He referred to her arm.

"Oh, yes thank you." She held still as the weasel bandaged her up and his brother organized the rest of the village folk.

"Did you get hit in the face? Your cheek is swollen and there's dried blood on your muzzle…" Guile continued to worry. Krystal smiled.

"It's fine… I took a few hits, but it was worth it to save your lives…" Guile smiled in return and tied off the bandage.

"That'll do." Krystal nodded and turned to the elders. "Is there a place you know of that will keep us hidden for a little while?" She questioned. Zaric nodded.

"There is a cave not far from here… the entrance is completely hidden by thick vegetation… it should suffice for now."

"Please lead the way then… I have a plan to help Rishia and will explain it once we're out of harm's way." Zaric and Larsh turned to the villagers and beckoned them to follow. Krystal took one step, but wobbled and almost fell. Rayner and Guile reached out and caught her.

"Whoa there, we almost lost you…" Rayner joked.

"You've done enough for one day, let us help you." Guile suggested as the two offered her their shoulders. She giggled.

"I guess that took more out of me than I thought… thank you." The three followed the group out the ruined village and made their way into the thick jungle. Krystal had won a battle, but the war had only just begun. She wasn't sure exactly how she would force away the strangers, but now she at least had the confidence to fight.

Part 1: Concluded

-To Be Continued in part 2: Surpassing Limits-

* * *

And there you have it folks... The backstory of starfox has been set, and Krystal's is underway. The next chapter will begin the Lylat wars arc, only don't expect it to be much like the game. It'll be generally the same missions, but there will be some plot twosts and MAJOR differences, including a lot of backstory and intense details.

And with that i should also explain that this is going to be where i postpone this story for a while. I really wanted to get these first five chapters done as a large preview of what's to come. I'm finding that at the rate i'm working in conjunction to my school work, if i continue my current schedule i might not finish everything by next year. There for this story is going to be postponed until i finish Love knows no Limit (which is really close to being done) and That incredible feeling (which is a little over half done.) Once those are complete i can put my full attention on this.

I appreciate all the support i've gotten through readers and reviewers alike. It's a real special feeling to know people are taking the time to view something you've worked hard on. I deeply thank each and every one of you.

Please read and review!

Flashgunner over and out!


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